Is this one more elusive Cairo return flight cover?

Air-India International London-Bombay First Return Flight (Cairo-Bombay stage) on 12 June 1948

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​About 65,000 postal articles are believed to have been carried on the first Bombay-Cairo-Geneva-London service of Air-India International which left Bombay on 8 June 1948. Just a few examples of mail carried on the London-Bombay and Geneva-Bombay return leg are known. My own estimate is less than 100 covers from London (largely comprised of Jal Cooper prepared covers and red Air-India International souvenir covers) and less than 50 from Geneva (largely registered mail covers) were carried on the return flight. Less than 50 unregistered mail is thought to have been left behind at Geneva and travelled by the second service a week later.
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However, I have yet to come across a single example of a cover which was carried on the first return flight from Cairo with a high degree of certainty. After more than 15 years of searching, I have come across this cover which I believe is the first or second recorded piece, depending on how much you agree with the other example mentioned at the end of this article. Since there is no Indian postal cancellation or delivery mark after return to India, I cannot declare this to be as such unless I open this to scrutiny and debate with other collectors. The purpose of this article therefore is to seek feedback and comments from other collectors. Please also share images of covers you have that you believe to have made it on the return flight from Cairo with me.

​​Examples of London-Bombay and Geneva-Bombay as well as images of the other cover suspected to have flown Cairo-Bombay on 12 https://www.indianairmails.com/return-flight-covers.html  or by scanning this QR code.

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Why do I think this one is any different from other mail sent to Cairo on the 8 June flight.

• Most Bombay-Cairo covers were addressed to the Station Manager, Air-India International, c/o Mr. Desautels, Trans World Airlines, Cairo, or to some other local address there.
• This is a registered cover mailed at Delhi G.P.O. and not addressed to any specific address at Cairo. It is simply endorsed ‘to be back stamped at Cairo (Egypt) and returned & delivered to N. R. Sethna 19, Alipore Road, Delhi, India’. This clearly establishes that the cover never left the custody of the postal department in Cairo – they simply had no address to deliver it to, and rather were clearly requested to back-stamp it and return it.
• There are four circular postal cachets applied in Egypt on the reverse:
  1. 9 JU 48 10.00 A / FOREIGN R / CAIRO DELIVERY
  2. 12 JUN 48 4.00 P / FOREIGN R / CAIRO DELIVERY
  3. 12 JUN 48 5.00 P / FOREIGN R / CAIRO DELIVERY
  4. 12 JUN 48 6.00 P / R.D. /AEROPORT FAROUK
• My hypothesis: The first cachet was clearly applied on arrival of the cover in the morning of 9th June. The cover then remained in the Cairo post office (registered delivery section) for two days and then when time came to send it back on the return flight, the second and third cachets were also applied there indicating the date and time of its leaving this section. Finally, the fourth and most important cachet was applied at 6 pm on the 12th evening at King Farouk Airport, Cairo, before placing it in the return flight to Bombay.
• Interestingly, the other cover I referred to is also a registered cover.

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​I welcome feedback, comments and images other collectors want to share with me on this topic. Please write to me at [email protected].