the fleet in 1944. Three accidents that took place in late 1945 prompted strikes for a fleet renewal and caused operations to come to a total halt since February 1946; services resumed in May, and by late 1946 the fleet included four Avro Ansons, one Beech AT-11, five Beech C-45s, four de Havilland D.H.89 Dragon Rapides and two North American AT-6 Texan. The carrier benefited from the Allies' regional aircraft disposal station that sold surplus military aircraft being located in Egypt. Two more Beech C-45s were delivered in 1947, and the Vickers Viking was incorporated in 1948. In May 1949, all the capital and the aircraft park was acquired by the government. After the Egyptian state became the sole shareholder, the company changed its name to Misrair SAE. Misrair (1949–1957) Misrair continued to fly the same routes as its predecessor. In 1951, three Languedocs were acquired; these were intended for deployment on longer routes. The Languedocs replaced the Vikings on flights to Geneva, Khartoum, and Tehran. On 1 December 1952 Misrair took over the domestic competitor Services Aériens Internationaux d'Égypte (SAIDE) and thus ended the flight operations of this airline. Only the successful route Cairo-Tunis was carried over to Misrair's own route network. Three Vickers Viscounts were ordered in early 1954. During that year, the carrier transported 64,539 passengers. At March 1955, Misrair's fleet comprised one Beechcraft, three Languedocs and seven Vikings; the three Viscounts were still pending delivery. Douglas DC-3s were subsequently purchased and deployed on domestic routes, as well as to neighbouring Arab countries. Delivery of the first two Viscounts occurred in December 1955; they were put into service in March 1956. The number of passengers transported during 1955 had grown to . A number of aircraft were lost during the Suez crisis. In February 1957, Misrair was renamed United Arab Airlines. Late that year, two more Viscounts were ordered at a cost of £600,000–800,000, including spares. Prior to this, an aircraft of the type was lost while standing at Almaza Airport during an air raid. United Arab Airlines (1957–1971) Following the formation of the United Arab Republic by Egypt and Syria on , Misrair was renamed United Arab Airlines (UAA) in March that year. A Cairo–Athens–Rome–Zurich service was launched on 7 July; Syrian Airways merged into UAA on 23 December, with the latter absorbing both the routes and the equipment of the Syrian carrier. By March 1960,