Luxor following a mid-air gas explosion. It was one of the worst accidents involving tourists in Egypt and likely to push the tourism industry deeper into recession. The casualties included French, British, Hungarian, Japanese nationals and nine tourists from Hong Kong. Luxor is served by Luxor International Airport. A bridge was opened in 1998, a few kilometres upstream of the main town of Luxor, allowing ready land access from the east bank to the west bank. Traditionally, however, river crossings have been the domain of several ferry services. The so-called 'local ferry' (also known as the 'National Ferry') continues to operate
Chennai International Airport near Pallavaram to which, passenger operations were shifted. The new domestic terminal was commissioned in 1985 and the international terminal was commissioned in 1989. The old terminal building is now used as a cargo terminal and is the base for the Indian courier company Blue Dart. On 23 September 1999, a centre for flowers, fruits and vegetables was commissioned at the cargo terminal. The new international departure terminal was commissioned in 2003. In 2001, Chennai Airport became the first international airport in the country to receive ISO 9001-2000 certification. During the early days, Madras Airport was one of the largest