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Flash Airlines was a private charter
The airline was established in 1995 as Heliopolis Airlines. It received its certificate of operation from the Egyptian authorities in 1996. It became a member of the Flash group in 2000. During that year Flash Airlines had one 737-300 with another that joined in 2002.
In 2002, Swiss aviation authorities performed a surprise inspection on SU-ZCF, a Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300. They discovered missing pilot oxygen masks, a lack of oxygen tanks, and inoperable cockpit instruments. The Swiss grounded the aircraft until Flash repaired the plane. Several days later, Switzerland banned Flash. Poland also banned Flash, while tour operators in Norway ceased contracting. In early 2004, SU-ZCF crashed while operating Flash's Flight 604 from
Heliopolis Airlines Fleet
/ref>
Flash Group official website
(now known as Flash International) {{Airlines of Egypt Defunct airlines of Egypt Airlines established in 1995 Airlines disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Egypt Defunct charter airlines Egyptian companies established in 1995 Companies based in Cairo Conglomerate companies of Egypt
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...
operating out of Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, Egypt that was part of the Flash Group tourism company. The airline operated two Boeing 737-3Q8 aircraft manufactured in 1993 on non-scheduled commercial passenger flights on both international and domestic routes.
History
The airline was established in 1995 as Heliopolis Airlines. It received its certificate of operation from the Egyptian authorities in 1996. It became a member of the Flash group in 2000. During that year Flash Airlines had one 737-300 with another that joined in 2002.
In 2002, Swiss aviation authorities performed a surprise inspection on SU-ZCF, a Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300. They discovered missing pilot oxygen masks, a lack of oxygen tanks, and inoperable cockpit instruments. The Swiss grounded the aircraft until Flash repaired the plane. Several days later, Switzerland banned Flash. Poland also banned Flash, while tour operators in Norway ceased contracting. In early 2004, SU-ZCF crashed while operating Flash's Flight 604 from Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh (, , literally "bay of the Sheikh"), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip alo ...
to Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
via Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. The subsequent investigation exposed poor safety measures and pilot disorientation, which led to the demise of Flash.
Fleet
Flash Airlines
The Flash Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft during operations:Heliopolis Airlines
The Heliopolis Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft before merging into Flash group:/ref>
Accidents and incidents
* On 3 January 2004,Flash Airlines Flight 604
Flash Airlines Flight 604 was a charter flight from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport in Egypt to Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France, with a stop-over at Cairo International Airport, provided by Egyptian private ch ...
, operated by a Boeing 737-300
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...
registration SU-ZCF, crashed into the Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh (, , literally "bay of the Sheikh"), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip alo ...
. All passengers and crew died. As a result of the crash, Flash Airlines went out of business in March 2004.
References
External links
Flash Group official website
(now known as Flash International) {{Airlines of Egypt Defunct airlines of Egypt Airlines established in 1995 Airlines disestablished in 2004 2004 disestablishments in Egypt Defunct charter airlines Egyptian companies established in 1995 Companies based in Cairo Conglomerate companies of Egypt