Experts are still arguing about what has become cause of the plane crash October 31, 2015 in Egypt. On the this moment There are several versions of what happened, but none of them has been reliably confirmed. It is known that it fell apart in the air for high altitude. This version, which was presented by the IAC, was also confirmed by the Federal Air Transport Agency. This is evidenced by the nature of the scatter of debris in the territory.

The plane, which was en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed on the morning of October 31 for unknown reasons. 21 minutes after takeoff, the plane gained an altitude of 10,210 meters and a speed of 748 km / h, and after only a minute it was at around 8649 meters and its speed was 172 km / h. At 22 minutes after takeoff, the airliner stopped transmitting data, and its mark disappeared from the radar. The wreckage of the Airbus A321 was found in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The plane crash site is an ellipse 8 kilometers long and 6 kilometers wide. This suggests that the destruction of the aircraft occurred at high altitude. Currently, there is a thorough study of the crash site. "Black boxes" have been found, but they have not yet begun to decipher.

Experts, having analyzed the data that are currently available, suggest three versions of what happened. According to experts, the body of the aircraft burst from the pressure drop. The sudden pressure drop that led to the depressurization and destruction of the airliner could have been caused by detached engine parts, fatigue cracks in the supporting structures, or due to a shock wave from an explosive device. To establish the exact cause, to confirm or refute these assumptions, experts must collect all the wreckage of the airbus and make their calculation in the hangar. At this stage of the investigation, none of the versions can be ruled out. It is also worth noting that the experts refuted the version that the plane could have been shot down from the ground with the help of MANPADS, since the plane was flying at an altitude inaccessible to these weapons. However, experts are in no hurry to completely discount the terrorist attack on the A321, since it is not known whether the radical militants have more powerful air defense systems.

Special attention of specialists is occupied by an incident that occurred with this aircraft in 2001. Then the Airbus A321, when landing in Cairo, hit its tail hard on runway. After that, the aircraft was bought by the Turkish airline Onur Air, and in 2012 the aircraft was put into operation by Kogalymavia. Experts do not exclude that the damage that was received in 2001 could have played a fatal role in the crash on October 31, 2015. Hidden damage in the tail section, which was invisible from the outside, under the influence of time or under the influence of an increase in load, could not withstand, as a result of which the aircraft began to fall apart.

The plane crashed on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt on October 31, 2015. An Airbus 321 flying from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed 23 minutes after takeoff. 217 passengers and seven crew members died.

Video. Causes of the Kogalymavia plane crash

Plane crash October 31, 2015 in Egypt photo

Exactly two years ago, on October 31, 2015, the most massive air crash in terms of the number of deaths occurred in the entire history of Russia. On this day, the Airbus A321-231 airliner of the Russian airline took off from the Egyptian Sharm el-Sheikh and headed for St. Petersburg. The crew of the liner performed chartered flight and drove Russian tourists home after rest.

The plane climbed steadily along the Gulf of Aqaba and was soon to cross the Sinai Peninsula to enter European airspace. However, at the 23rd minute of the flight, the connection of ground services with the aircraft was interrupted. It soon became clear that the Airbus A321-231 crashed to the ground in the central part of the Sinai Peninsula and completely collapsed. The wreckage of the aircraft was scattered over 13 km. All 224 people on board the aircraft were killed.

Photo report: Three years of tragedy over Sinai

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At the time of the death of the airliner, there were seven crew members, as well as 217 passengers. Of these, four were Ukrainians, one Belarusian, and the rest were Russian citizens. Among them was the deputy head of Pskov and a deputy of the local legislative assembly. According to the Federal Air Transport Agency, the oldest passenger was 77 years old, and

the smallest victim of the tragedy was 10-month-old.

Shortly before the tragic incident, her mother Tatyana published a photo of the child on the page on the social network VKontakte. The picture shows the girl standing on the window sill of the airport window with her back to the viewer. She looks at the planes on the ground. Under the picture she signed: "The most important passenger."

This photograph was later replicated by many Russian and world media and became a symbol of the Sinai catastrophe. Diana's mother and father also died in the crash of the liner.

Condolences to the victims were expressed by the Russian president, as well as the leaders of many countries in Europe and the world. The day after the crash of the liner, mourning was declared in Russia. However, the French published three cartoons on the topic of the disaster, which caused a negative reaction from the Russian Federation and. In response, the French Foreign Ministry said that "journalists in France freely express their opinion", while "it does not always coincide with the official position of the French authorities."

"There were no questions about the car"

Shortly after the incident, various versions of what had happened began to be put forward. Almost immediately, the hypothesis was dismissed, according to which the plane crashed due to pilot error. Victim Airbus crash managed experienced pilots, and the crew commander - 48-year-old Valery Nemov - has flown over 12 thousand hours, of which more than 3860 - on the Airbus A321.

However, the details of the operation of the aircraft soon became known, and it turned out that it was far from new.

It was released in the spring of 1997 and made its first flight on May 9th. After that, the aircraft was handed over to the American company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), which by May 27 leased it to the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines (MEA), which had it for six years. On June 2, 2003, already under the tail number TC-OAE, the liner was leased Turkish airline Onur Air. This structure later sub-leased the liner to the Saudi Saudi Arabian Airlines, and from July 30 to September 29, 2010 - the Syrian Cham Wings Airlines. By the spring of 2012, the TC-OAE board returned to ILFC, and by March 30, 2012, it was leased to the Russian Kogalymavia.

On April 30 of the same 2012, the Dutch airline AerCap bought it from ILFC, which re-delivered this airliner to the Russian Kogalymavia. The Russian airline, in turn, has been operating under the Metrojet trademark since May 1, 2012.

During the long service of the aircraft, an unpleasant incident from the point of view of safety occurred to him. On November 16, 2001, he was on passenger flight ME 306 on the route Beirut - Cairo, and when landing at the airport in the Egyptian capital, the pilots raised his nose too high, as a result of which the tail dropped so low that it hit the ground. None of the 88 people on board the aircraft (81 passengers and 7 crew members) were injured then, and the liner itself returned to passenger routes after undergoing repairs. This information was confirmed by the representatives of Kogalymavia, assuring that the aircraft passed all the necessary checks and technical tests on time.

On the eve of departure ill-fated flight passed maintenance, and the receiving crew had no questions about the car.

Interrupted message

An investigation into the causes of the tragedy was immediately launched by several large structures of the countries of the world, since Egypt is a very popular tourist destination citizens of many states. The investigation was carried out by the Ministry civil aviation Egypt, Russia, the French Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau, the German Federal Aviation Accident Investigation Bureau, the Irish Accident Investigation Unit, and the US National Transportation Safety Board.

At the same time, according to the norms of international law, the Egyptian investigators carried out the general leadership, since the incident occurred in the airspace of this country. Already on the first of November, the "black boxes" found earlier from the deceased liner were deciphered. In the meantime, he opened criminal cases under articles 263 and 238 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the rules for the safety of traffic and operation of railway, air, sea and inland water transport and underground" and "Production, storage, transportation or sale of goods and products, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements").

The United Kingdom and German airlines also interrupted flights with the Egyptian state, while France, the Netherlands and Belgium warned their citizens about the undesirability of flying to Sharm el-Sheikh. In addition, she announced the cancellation of night flights to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Customers not installed

Meanwhile, the victims of the disaster filed a class-action lawsuit against the tour operator, the Kogalymavia airline and insurance companies for a total amount of about €1.4 billion. This is the first example of a class-action lawsuit for such a serious amount in Russian history.

And although the involvement of Kogalymavia employees in the incident over Sinai is not confirmed by the facts, in the spring of 2016 she banned domestic and international flights of this airline.

According to the most frequently voiced version, the Sinai division of the terrorist "" is behind the attack (both organizations are banned in Russia). Its members claimed responsibility for this crime shortly after the incident.

However, there are other points of view. A number of experts believe that the pro-Catarian organization Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (a cell of IS banned in Russia) could be behind the attack. The United States also announced its trace in the tragedy.

Be that as it may, after the death of the plane, Russian aviation began to intensify its air strikes on the objects of various Islamist organizations in Syria. For the first time, Russian strategic aviation was involved in raids on IS targets and other extremists.

However, the names of the specific perpetrators of the attack have not yet been established.

And on October 28, 2017, a monument to the victims of the disaster was unveiled at the Serafimovsky cemetery in St. Petersburg. In addition, among the people of St. Petersburg there is an idea to erect a monument to 10-month-old Darina Gromova, who has already promised to make a well-known sculptor free of charge.

Last information:

25.12.2015 The attack on board the A321 was carried out using an improvised explosive device based on C-4 plastic explosive. According to the Kommersant newspaper on Friday, citing its own source close to the investigation, this fact significantly expands the list of potential criminals.

The source said that the Russian special services had established the possible nature of the explosive device. C-4 plastic explosive was developed in the USA and is now produced in many countries. Thus, the list of those suspected of participating in the preparation of a terrorist act will be significantly expanded, which means that their search will be more complicated.

11/17/2015 The FSB confirmed the version of the explosion on board the Airbus A321.

Information about this was received by the resource site after the meeting between the director of the FSB and Vladimir Putin. As it became known, in all likelihood, the power of the explosive device activated on board the Russian passenger airliner wrecked in the Sinai Peninsula, was about 1 kilogram of TNT, however, in reality, we can talk about a much smaller amount of explosives, which could only serve as the initiator of further destruction of the aircraft in the air.

The cause of the explosion on board the Russian A321 over Sinai was an unknown suitcase, which one of the loaders received from an employee of the Sharm el-Sheikh airport. According to sources in the Egyptian security services, the luggage scanner was left unattended for some time.

The terrible tragedy that occurred on October 31, 2015, and which claimed the lives of 224 people, is fraught with a lot of questions, while, despite the fact that the flight recorders found at the crash site of the Airbus A321 airliner have not yet been deciphered, experts have already put forward far not one version of why the plane crash could happen.

Terrorist act

Almost immediately after the appearance of information about the crash of a passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia airline (Metrojet), versions appeared about what happened on board the aircraft terrorist act. It is extremely difficult to guess who could carry it out, since there are not so few radical groups around the world, however, experts who adhere to this version believe that these could be the militants of the Islamic State, whose positions were so mercilessly destroyed in Syria by the Aerospace Forces for a month Russian Federation.

Almost immediately after the presentation of this version, skeptics also appeared who noted that the version of a terrorist act on board the aircraft is unlikely for the reason that in the event of an explosion on board, and it is most likely to consider these circumstances, very large damage would certainly have been found, including those that affected both passengers and interior trim. Nevertheless, it is worth noting the fact that even a small explosion inside the aircraft cabin would be enough to depressurize it, and given the fact that the aircraft was at high altitude, it can be said with 99% probability that the aircraft would have been destroyed.

Destruction of an aircraft from the ground

One of the first to appear was also a version that a passenger airliner of the domestic airline Kogalymavia could have been destroyed from the ground. This version was discussed in great detail until the photos and videos from the crash site of the passenger airliner were made public. The presented photos and video materials clearly show that there are no external, at least visible, damage to the fuselage from a missile hit, which minimizes the likelihood of such circumstances, but at the same time does not completely exclude them.

Airliner technical malfunction

The most common cause of almost any plane crash is a technical malfunction, and at the moment, this version is followed by most experts involved in the investigation of a plane crash. What kind of malfunction was, experts at the moment cannot speak, since a variety of versions are possible, however, it should be assumed that it arose, it is very fleeting.

Initially, it was assumed that a failed aircraft engine could be the culprit, however, it is fair to note the fact that modern airliners are very well insured against falling in the event of a failure of one of the engines, since even when using only one power plant, an aircraft can in no way overcome less than 200-300 kilometers.

In addition, given the official data, before taking off from the Egyptian airport, the passenger airliner of the Kogalymavia company was fully operational, and even earlier there were no technical problems causing concern with it.

It is also worth clarifying that in the event of any technical malfunction, the aircraft crew first of all informs the air traffic controller about this, however, according to official data, the pilot passenger aircraft did not make any requests or notifications regarding technical problems that arose on board the aircraft.

Sudden depressurization of the aircraft

The last, very plausible voiced version was the so-called explosive depressurization. Given the rather large spread of the wreckage of a passenger airliner, as well as the entire transience of the process, this version is quite justified, however, the circumstances of what happened remain unknown, since initiation of the process of instantaneous depressurization requires either a large hole in the fuselage of a passenger airliner, or a sharp increase in pressure inside a passenger aircraft , which can be caused precisely by the detonation of explosives on board the liner, which again suggests a version of either a terrorist act or a version of the deliberate destruction of an aircraft from the ground.

Experts note that most likely the main cause of the disaster will be named only after decoding the aircraft's flight recorders, which, although they received some damage, are quite suitable for extracting information and data from them. It is expected that the first information from the flight recorders will be received by experts by the middle of this week.

News of Egypt. A tragedy that claimed 224 lives. On board were 200 adults, 17 children and 7 crew members. The bodies of those killed in the crash on Saturday evening began to be delivered to the Zenhom mortuary in Cairo.

At the crash site Russian airliner Search and rescue operation continues in Egypt.

Recall that a passenger plane en route from resort town Sharm El Sheikh to Saint Petersburg, . The airliner disappeared from radar screens less than half an hour after departure. Before that, the car began to lose altitude sharply.

According to the latest data, 220 Russians, three Ukrainians and .

It is already known that most of the passengers of the ill-fated flight were from St. Petersburg. Each line in the list of the dead has its own story. Someone spent a vacation in Egypt, someone - a wedding anniversary, someone celebrated a birthday. By and large, many came to a hot country as tourists.

Literally half an hour before the tragedy, this photo appeared on the page of a resident of St. Petersburg.

A beloved husband holds his beloved daughter in his arms. Their family turned four on October 27. Olga and Yuri, according to friends, were an incredibly happy couple, appreciated and respected each other. Three glorious children were born in love (all three rested with mom and dad in Egypt). They loved to travel, preferred beach activities.

Olga Sheina with her daughter

In July we rested in Cyprus, in October we have long planned a trip to Egypt.

Tatyana and Alexey Gromov

As Tatyana wrote on her page on the social network, “ flew to warm up". It was their first family trip. Before the flight from St. Petersburg, the happy mother took this photo.

Darina rests her hands on the glass and carefully examines the plane.

The grandmother of the "main passenger" did not want to let her granddaughter go to Egypt, they say, she is still a baby, let her grow up a little. Darina's parents insisted: " Mom, nothing will happen. Let's help our feet in the sea and return».

Darina Gromova

The day before, Alexei called home and said that this vacation was the best and most significant, because the first trip “ at full strength».

His father was a military pilot. Alexei wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, but changed his mind. As a result, he built a career in an IT company.

Tatyana and Alexey Gromov

« They seemed to be the happiest in the world. Both of their eyes shone with happiness.", - this is how colleagues respond

about 62-year-old Alexander Kopylov, deputy head of Pskov, and his wife Elena.

On October 27, the woman celebrated her 53rd birthday. Trips to Egypt were a gift from her husband in honor of his wife's birthday.

Elena's daughter, like dozens of daughters and sons whose lives were forever taken away by the ill-fated flight from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, refuses to believe in what happened.

Among the passengers Airbus aircraft A321 turned out to be a participant in the popular TV show "Top Model in Russian" Elena Domashnaya.

Colleague of Elena Domashnaya on the project "Top Model in Russian". Social media post

After the TV show, Lena did not abandon the modeling business, continued to take part in photo projects, and received a diploma in journalism.

Elena Domashnaya

In two weeks, the beauty would have turned 25 years old. The girl planned to have a big party.

Elena flew to Egypt on vacation. She was accompanied by a friend and colleague Ksenia Ogorodova.

Ksenia Ogorodova

Ksenia called the autumn spent in paradise, "ideal". Palm trees, sea and sun. A few days ago, the girl boasted that for the first time in Egypt she caught the rain.

One of the Egyptian photos of Xenia Ogorodova shows how four young guys throw a girl, probably Xenia herself, into the pool, and two fall after her. " Rescue of a drowning man. Very cheerful Polish families that don't let you get burned”, – so the girl signed this photo.

This frame was the last.

32-year-old Katya Murashova was a participant in the beauty contest among married women - "Mrs. Pskov-2014".

Ekaterina Murashova

As Ekaterina's friends say, traveling was literally the meaning of her life. She worked in the state administration of social protection of the Pskov region, and devoted her free time to trips with her family to different countries and cities. " Very sociable, open and kind person”, - so colleagues characterize Katya.

Nikolai Korolev, organizer of the beauty contest (for the Pskov Information Agency):
She was a loving mother and an optimistic person. Catherine always did everything well. She was a stubborn, hardworking, kind and sympathetic woman. Even without winning the competition, she was not upset, because the very process of growth and self-development was important to her. I remember her as a loving mother - she and her daughter had a very warm relationship. She was an optimistic, cheerful woman who loved life.

Ironically, one of the last entries left by Ekaterina Murashova on a page on a social network is an airplane icon and a song with a sad, and, as it turned out, prophetic title “I know that I won’t be back.”

In the 27th year, the life of Alina Gaydamak from St. Petersburg ended.

Alina Gaydamak

Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Thailand. The girl visited a dozen countries and dreamed of visiting as many more, definitely no less. A trip to Egypt appeared in her plans spontaneously.

Alina went on a trip to Israel. On the way back I decided to fly through Egypt.

Elena and Alexander

Anniversaries were celebrated in Egypt. The family planned to return home on October 31 in order to have time to finish preparations for another significant date. November 1, Elena would have turned 35 years old.

Desperate hope "what if it's a mistake?" relatives and friends of the Belarusian Roman Seredinsky live.

A 28-year-old young man was awarded a trip to Egypt for Good work. The fact that the rest will end in such a tragedy, no one could have imagined.

Roman Seredinsky

Natalya Melnichenko has known Roma since school. Studied together since first grade. He remembers going on tours of memorable places Belarus, went hiking and to the river. About 10 years ago, a childhood friend left for St. Petersburg. All this time .

Natalya Melnichenok, classmate of Roman Seredinsky:
Roma was and will forever remain a good, cheerful person for us.

The son of the dean of the St. Petersburg School of Economics and Management was vacationing at the resort with his beloved Alexandra.

Sasha Illarionova shared her impressions and posted photos on her Instagram page underwater world. Lenya and Sasha have recently become seriously interested in diving.

A week ago, Olga Kirillova enthusiastically told her friends that there is nothing better in the world than a vacation at sea.

Olga Kirillova

She calmly endured the heat and noted more than once how much the sun adores her. The girl always came home with a luxurious tan.

She smiles in numerous photos. Olga loved when people around smile, then work is a pleasure. She made magnificent bouquets of flowers, buyers left enthusiastic comments on social media pages.

One of Olga's latest works

In Egypt, Olga Kirillova was vacationing with her best friend, 25-year-old Zhenya Sologubova.

They said about them, "do not spill water." Indeed, the friendship between the girls was the strongest. " In any vacation, the most important thing is - good company “, the friends said.

Evgenia Sologubova

On the last day spent at the resort, Evgenia left a note on her web page with the words “ out of range” and a few graphic emoticons. The girl, of course, said that she was out of the zone for the duration of the flight.

21-year-old table tennis coach Yevgeny Yavsin was vacationing in Egypt with his girlfriend Alexandra Chernova.

Evgeny Yavsin and Alexandra Chernova

Evgeny Yavsin

For the wards, friends and relatives, the news that the cheerful and purposeful Zhenya and Sasha are no more was a real shock.

According to Russian publications, referring to the couple's friends, Evgeny called Alexandra to rest in Egypt to propose to her.

« Lovely friendly family”, – such was remembered by the Golenkov family from St. Petersburg.

Vladimir and Victoria Golenkov took their granddaughter Diana with them to the warm sea. In September, the baby turned four years old.

Olesya Kosorukova from Novgorod is sure that time will not be able to reconcile with pain. Her mother Natalya Rostenko was on board the Airbus A321.

In August, the woman retired and promised her relatives that she would take a break and, upon her return, would help with her grandchildren. Natalia has five of them.

Natalya Rostenko during one of the trips

In Sharm el-Sheikh, she rested seven times, was delighted with the resort and planned to return here in January to celebrate her birthday.

« I never thought that Egypt would cause me so many positive emotions. Do I want to live here? No. Will I return here? Necessarily," she wrote on Thursday evening.

24-year-old resident of St. Petersburg on her page in the social network.

Victoria Sevryukova shared photos from the trip with her virtual friends. The girl enjoyed life and literally accompanied every picture with the hashtags “happiness is here” and “I don’t want to leave.”

Friends remember: Vika always traveled with her favorite pink suitcase.

Victoria Sevryukova

This thing seemed to confirm: the hostess never has a bad mood.

Aleksey and Oksana Semakova are another married couple who have been registered on board.

Spouses Semakovs

Both have uniforms: he is a fire inspector of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, she is an interrogating officer of the police department. They escaped from cold Belomorsk to warmer climes for only seven days. Happy and rested, Oksana and Aleksey were planning to enter the service with renewed vigor.

They were expected home with a lot of new experiences and gifts. But none of the passengers of flight 9268 were destined to be met by relatives and friends at the Pulkovo airport.

On October 31, 2015, the Russian Airbus A321 aircraft of Kogalymavia (Metrojet) operating flight 9268 Sharm el-Sheikh - St. Petersburg,.

On behalf of the President, the Russian government in connection with the disaster, headed by the Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov. The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) was under the leadership of the executive director of the committee, Viktor Sorochenko.

Cairo immediately after the disaster about the opportunity to take part in the investigation of the tragedy. A special commission of inquiry was created, in it: Russia, Egypt, France (the state of the aircraft developer), Germany (the state of the liner manufacturer) and Ireland (the state of registration). Ayman al-Muqaddam was appointed head of the commission to investigate the disaster.

On November 1, 2015, Egyptian Attorney General Nabil Ahmed Sadeq involved Russian specialists in the investigation into the causes of the crash with the Russian aircraft in the Sinai Peninsula.

A group of investigators and forensic experts from the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia, in agreement with the competent authorities and together with representatives of the Republic of Egypt, in accordance with the norms of national and international law, participated in the inspection of the crash site in Egypt.

November 17, 2015 the head of the FSB of the Russian Federation Alexander Bortnikov during a meeting in the Kremlin on the results of the investigation into the causes of the crash Russian aircraft that, as a result of the examination of personal belongings, luggage and parts of a plane that crashed in Egypt, traces of a foreign-made explosive were found. He .

In turn, the Egyptian authorities urged not to rush to conclusions. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said that as part of a criminal investigation.

In March 2016, the International Commission for the Investigation of the Crash of the Russian Aircraft A321 that it received an official report from the Investigative Committee of Russia and handed it over to the Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office to complete legal procedures. The commission itself, despite the transfer of the case to the investigating authorities of the state security of the country, continued the technical examination of the wreckage of the liner.

In mid-April, Egypt's Attorney General Nabil Sadeq announced that the case of the Russian plane crash was transferred to the country's High Prosecutor's Office for State Security. The decision of the head of the supervisory agency, noted in the text of the statement, was made on the basis of data from the report of the Investigative Committee of Russia, "which indicates the suspicion of a criminal trace."

In June, CIA Director John Brennan, speaking in the US Senate, that US intelligence has evidence of involvement in the explosion on the Russian passenger plane A321 of the Egyptian group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which swore allegiance to the terrorist movement "Islamic State" banned in many countries (an organization banned in the Russian Federation), and on August 4, the Egyptian Ministry of Defense announced the liquidation of the leader of this terrorist group.

At the insistence of the Investigative Committee of Russia, the International Commission for the Investigation of the Aviation Accident. As a result of the work carried out, the fact of the impact of high-energy elements on the aircraft skin in the "inside-out" direction and "explosive decompression" in flight was established.

In October 2016, a commission of inquiry formed by the Egyptian Attorney General's Office sent twelve of the wreckage to the Alloys Science Laboratory for detailed examination.

Work to determine the causes of the crash. Until now, the parties have no understanding of what happened to the plane, how the explosive device got on board the plane, who carried it. Also, there are no identified suspects and their accomplices from among the employees of the airport.