Then, the shakedown. Egyptian airport officials demanded cash — $2,000 from passengers, which they quickly collected on board — before the plane would be allowed to take off. That was on top of the “roughly $400” the Conservative government intends to charge them for passage to the “safe haven” cities of London, Paris or Frankfurt.

Canadian evacuees will then have to pay their way home from those locations, but the government promises to help with the bookings. It’s the first time ever in a rescue effort the government is charging to recover costs for evacuation flights.

In Ottawa, the government denied its Egyptian rescue effort was in disarray even as the Canadians were hit up for extravagant “departure” fees, could not reach embassy personnel by phone, and said Ottawa’s emergency voice mailbox was full. When word reached Ottawa about the runway cash demands, Canadian officials made an angry call to Egypt’s ambassador.