Flash Airlines

Flash Airlines was a private charter airline operating out of Cairo, 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.

Flash Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
7K FSH FLASH
Founded1995
Ceased operationsMarch 2004
Operating basesSharm el-Sheikh Int'l Airport
Fleet size2
Parent companyFlash Group
HeadquartersCairo, Egypt

History
A Flash Airlines Boeing 737-300 at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France. (2003)

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.[1]

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 to Paris via Cairo. 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:[2]

Aircraft Registration Delivered Exited Fate
Boeing 737-3Q8 SU-ZCF 22 July 2001 3 January 2004 Crashed as Flash Airlines Flight 604
Boeing 737-3Q8 SU-ZCD 16 February 2002 5 March 2004 Became N271LF with ILFC

Heliopolis Airlines

The Heliopolis Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft before merging into Flash group:[3]

Aircraft Registration Delivered Exited Fate
Airbus A310-222 SU-ZCC 27 October 1997 26 August 1999 Became N453FE with FedEx Express
Boeing 737-3Q8 SU-ZCE 21 April 2000 17 May 2000 Became N221LF with ILFC, later became SU-ZCF
Boeing 737-3Q8 SU-ZCF 23 June 2001 22 July 2001 Stayed as SU-ZCF with Flash Airlines
Boeing 737-3Q8 SU-ZCD 16 February 2000 27 August 2000 Stayed as SU-ZCD with Ecoair International
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 SU-ZCA 23 August 1996 13 February 1998 Became HK-4137X with Avianca, involved in the Air Algérie Flight 5017 crash

Accidents and incidents
  • On 3 January 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604, operated by a Boeing 737-300 registration SU-ZCF, crashed into the Red Sea shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh. All passengers and crew died. As a result of the crash, Flash Airlines went out of business in March 2004.

References
  1. "Flash Airlines." Flash Tour. 13 December 2000. Retrieved on 1 June 2009.
  2. Flash Airlines Fleet
  3. Heliopolis Airlines Fleet
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