As unrest continues in Egypt, Expedia Inc. is working to repatriate six staff members of a call center in Cairo which supports Expedia.ca.
Expedia does not own the call center, but contracts call center services from an outside vendor.
Of the 400 agents in Cairo supporting Expedia's Canada website, most are Egyptians. But, six are U.S. citizens, and only one these is an Expedia employee.
Expedia made arrangements for the six U.S. citizens, who had been staying "at a very secure Cairo hotel" since Jan. 27, says spokeswoman Mallory Brown Seubert. "They were provided access to phones, and Expedia has also set up a crisis bridge line and spoken routinely to employees via this line every 2-4 hours."
The six have departed Cairo, en route to the U.S., are are due to arrive Feb. 2.
"The Cairo call center has been secured and is under surveillance, remaining open and is fully-functioning at this point," Brown Seubert says.