Eighty Egyptians and more than 100 Americans were on board, including two large groups of tourists on vacation. Other passengers included citizens of Syria, Sudan, Chile and Canada. Egypt's national air carrier is one of the oldest airlines in the Middle East. It experienced a number of accidents in the 1960s and 1970s, but had a good safety record over the past 20 years. Egyptian officials are worried this disaster will hurt tourism, which is just beginning to recover from a series of terrorist attacks a few years ago.
Tourism is one of the country's top foreign exchange earners.
Despite the loss, life goes on here. People went to work and school normally today and the first Egypt Air flight from New York City since the tragedy arrived in Cairo on schedule.