CAIRO: Egypt’s national airline said yesterday it will analyze its onboard movies to make sure they respect “Egyptian values and customs”, following a complaint by a Muslim Brotherhood member who took offence at a film screened during one of its flights.
EgyptAir said the film had been turned off at the request of Ahmed Fahmy, the speaker of Egypt’s upper house of Parliament and a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. In a statement, EgyptAir said he had “expressed reservations about one of the scenes” in the movie. The statement did not name the film. A local newspaper said Fahmy had taken offence at scenes of intimacy.
Fahmy could not immediately be reached for comment.
The case is likely to fuel concerns about the extent to which the Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Muhammud Mursi to power in an election last year, could use its new position of power against country’s entertainment industry.
Responding to media reports of a confrontation between Fahmy and the EgyptAir crew aboard Wednesday’s flight from Khartoum to Cairo, the EgyptAir statement said Fahmy had asked for the film to be switched off “politely and without a row”.
“The film screening was halted in business class and there was no annoyance or objection from the passengers,” it said.
In a separate statement, EgyptAir said it would form a committee to review all films shown on its flights.
EgyptAir reviews in-flight movies after complaint
