From the perspective of this forum, the outcome is disappointing, and a very low-key conclusion to such an exciting and unusual discovery.
There is a great temptation, almost an impulse, to identify the ‘bad guys’ whose greed or incompetence brought about this unhappy ending. But perhaps in reality, no one person or body actually had the influence or means to bring about conclusion which we would have deemed satisfactory;-
Not the RAF Museum, who knowingly took a chance, to at least save an historic artifact, but were ultimately rebuffed by the Egyptian authorities. Nor even Kennet Aviation, who seemingly achieved all that their contract required them to do, and duly received the payment that underpinned the deal.
Nor can one really blame the the decision makers at the Egyptian museum, at a time of political turmoil, when staff may well have been replaced or moved on, rendering obsolete any commitments or assurances which initially steered the whole process 6 years ago.
Finally, one cannot really blame the technicians or engineers or even volunteers who undertook the restorative process, following the instructions of management, though with skill, knowledge and probably funding far below what would be available in the UK. They did what was asked of them, within the limits of their resources.
Perhaps only political intervention at the highest level could have got the aeroplane to the UK, involving all sorts of behind-the -scenes negotiations, and realistically, that was very unlikely to ever happen.
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