Getting There
Whether you are traveling from Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, or the Middle East, the indisputably easiest way to reach Egypt is by plane.
Whether you are traveling from Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania, or the Middle East, the indisputably easiest way to reach Egypt is by plane.
Egypt boasts 10 Major international airports that welcome millions of tourists and visitors each year. Most of these airports include regular flights from several international destinations and charter flights, departing mainly from Europe and the Middle East to the paradisiacal Red Sea coast airports.
Egypt has its national Airline, Egypt Air, which flies from Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Cairo International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Heliopolis, Cairo. It is located in the northeast of Cairo, around 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) from the city’s central area, and has approximately 37 square kilometers (14 sq mi).
Cairo is the second busiest airport in Africa after O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Egypt’s busiest airport. It serves as the primary center for Egypt Air, Egypt Air Express, Nile Air, and several other airlines.
The trip from/to the airport takes approx. 35 – 45 Minutes. Dear traveler, make sure to leave your hotel at least three hours before your departure time!
There are three terminals at Cairo International airport, so Please check with your Airline which terminal you will depart/arrive at as Egypt-Air and domestic flights depart from the terminal. In contrast, all other airlines depart from a different terminal.
If you are an individual traveler to Egypt, it is recommended that you confirm your trip before your departure flight; it is essential to do that by calling Geoota before arrival in Egypt or the hotel guest relation before the final departure.
– Cairo airport provides free Wi-Fi services in its terminal without any charge to passengers.
Cairo Airport Exclusive Service (Ahlan Service) reservation is available by sending an email to exclusive@cairo-airport.com or call +202 2265 5647 for terminal 1 or call +202 2269 6300 for terminal 3.
You can directly contact Cairo International airport for flight arrival information via phone at +202 2265 5000. The airport’s email is cac@cairo-airport.com.
Sphinx International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Giza. It is located on the western side of Cairo on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road. The airport is closely adjacent to and shares some infrastructure with the Cairo West Air Base.
In October 2017, it announced that the airport would be open to commercial flights in summer 2018 and set to start experimental operations in October 2018.
On 26 January 2019, EgyptAir Express launched many test flights to Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Luxor, and Aswan.
Borg Al-Arab International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Alexandria. It is located about 40 km southwest of Alexandria, in Borg El-Arab.
The airport also serves the nearby areas of the Nile Delta.
Borg El Arab is the principal airport of Alexandria since December 2011 after the closure of Alexandria International Airport due to a significant re-development program.
The terminal contains a duty-free shop, a franchise food court, an area dedicated to travel offices and other travel-related services, a fuel supply unit, a control tower, and a fire station to cover emergencies on site. A parking area in front of the building provides space for 350 vehicles.
The airport can handle 1.2 million passengers per year, becoming an adequate replacement to Alexandria International Airport, which shut down in summer 2010 while the airport’s facilities overhauled. During this time, all airlines operating to Alexandria will transfer to Borg El-Arab Airport.
The President also inaugurated Borg Al-Arab International Airport, the recent in a series of new airports and development of old ones to serve development. After economic woes plagued the country following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, El-Nouzha Airport’s renovation was put on hold, leaving Borg El Arab as the only airport serving Alexandria.
Luxor International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Luxor. It is located 6 km (4 mi) east of the city.
In 2005 the airport was upgraded to accommodate up to 8 million passengers every year. Facilities for passengers include 48 check-in desks, eight gates, five baggage claim belts, a post office, a bank, a Bureau de change, an auto exchange machines, restaurants, cafeterias, a VIP Lounge, a duty-free shop, a newsagent/tobacconist, a pharmacy, a gift shop, a travel agency, a tourist help desk, car rental, first aid, a baby/parent room, disabled access/facilities, and a business center.
Cargo facilities include refrigerated storage, animal quarantine, livestock handling, health officials, X-Ray equipment, and fumigation equipment. The cargo terminal handling agent for the airport is Egypt Air Cargo.
There are 329 flights on 25 different routes from Luxor International Airport, connecting LXR to 24 different cities in 15 other countries. The most popular Air routes connect Luxor to Cairo, Kuwait City, Hurghada, Paris, and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Aswan International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Aswan. It is located 16 km southwest of the city.
It is built-in 1956 and upgraded in 1992 and 1999 by the Egyptian government. Aswan Airport is an efficient way to reach all the sights in this part of Egypt and is also an excellent point to begin a Nile Cruise. Aswan’s trip takes approximately 20 minutes; there are shuttle vans, taxis, and car rental services easily accessible.
The facilities include restaurants and Duty-Free shopping venues. Major (charter) airlines that fly to this airport are Egypt Air, Thomson Flights, and Iberworld.
There are 159 flights on 16 different routes from Aswan International Airport, connecting ASW to 16 different cities in 7 other countries. The most popular Air routes connect Aswan to Cairo, Abu Simbel, Sharm el-Sheikh, Jeddah, and Medina.
Abu Simbel International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Abu Simbel. It is located 5 km north of Abu Simbel, fantastic Temples.
There are 33 flights on two different routes from Abu Simbel Airport, connecting ABS to 2 other cities in 1 other country. The most popular routes connect Abu Simbel to Aswan and Cairo.
Hurghada International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Hurghada City. It is located 5 km (3.1 mi) southwest of El-Dahar, (The Hurghada Downtown).
It is the second busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport: an unforgettable destination for leisure flights, mainly from Europe.
The airport currently has two terminals: 1 and 2. Construction of the new terminal complex cost $330 million, which was mainly financed by the Arab Fund for Economic Development. Egypt’s aviation minister said that the airport would host up to 13 million visitors annually.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi inaugurated the project on 17 December 2014, and the recent terminal has a total area of 90,000 square meters on three levels. The main departure hall has 72 check-in counters and 20 departure gates.
There are 1144 flights on 124 different routes from Hurghada International Airport, connecting HRG to 117 different cities in 40 other countries.
The most popular Air routes connect Hurghada to Cairo, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Cologne.
Marsa Alam International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Marsa Alam. It is located 60 km north of Marsa Alam in Egypt and an essential destination for Europe’s leisure flights.
It built-in response to European travelers’ increasing needs to this beautiful southern Red Sea destination, besides other airports on the Red Sea such as Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport, being inaugurated on 16 October 2003.
The official name of the airport until 2011 was Marsa Mubarak Airport. The airport is privately owned and operated by EMAK Marsa Alam for Management & Operation Airports, a subsidiary of the M.A. Al-Kharafi Group of Kuwait.
There are 366 flights on 47 different routes from Marsa Alam International Airport, connecting RMF to 44 different cities in 18 other countries. The most popular routes connect Marsa Alam to Sharm el-Sheikh, Milan, Hurghada, Dusseldorf, and Prague.
Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Sharm El-Sheikh. It is located 10 km northeast of Naama Bay City Center.
It is the third-busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport and Hurghada International Airport.
The airport opened on 14 May 1968, as an Israeli Air Force base. After the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979 and subsequent Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, It reopened as a civilian airport.
The largest regular aircraft using the airport was a Transaero Airlines-operated Boeing 747-400; these flights transiting from Moscow ended when Transaero ceased operations in October 2015.
British Airways operated the only regular scheduled Boeing 777-200ER service (from Gatwick Airport).
In January 2018, it announced that Egypt Air Express would open a base at the airport for its incoming fleet of Airbus A220s.
This would increase the number of destinations served by the Airline at the airport with the possibility of operating to cities in Italy, Germany, Morocco, and India non-stop.
On 22 October 2019, the UK lifted the flight ban on flights between UK airports and Sharm El-Sheikh.
On 1 November 2019, TUI AG, The parent company of TUI Airways and TUI UK, announced a resume of flights to the airport, starting in February 2020.
Taba International Airport is one of the Egypt Airports located in Taba. It is located on the Sinai Plateau, 13 kilometers from Taba and 30 kilometers from Taba Heights, near El-Nakb, and adjacent to Eilat, Israel. The airport was named El-Nakb Airport.
Israel constructed the airport in 1972 during its occupation of Sinai following the Six-Day War. Known as the Etzion Air Force Base, it was demilitarized in 1979 with the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty. Then Israel’s “Golden Eagle,” “Phoenix,” and “Smashing Parrot” squadrons moved out, and the land there was restored to Egyptian control.
A condition of that peace treaty allows tourists to visit certain areas in Egypt, near Taba, for up to 14 days, without a visa. So from Israel and Jordan, travelers and tourists cross the Taba border in buses to visit resorts. Egyptian taxis can take fares up to the Israel border but no further.
With an elevation of 2,470 ft, Taba International Airport has only one gate from which mainly charter flights operate. The Taba VOR-DME is located 0.43 nautical miles off the threshold of runway 22.
A new terminal building and night lighting added, and the airport was then renamed Taba International Airport in November 2000.
In 2016, it announced that Thales Group would be modernizing Air Traffic Management at Taba International Airport.
In May 2018, it announced charter flights to the airport would resume, initially with Poland’s flights and then from the Czech Republic.
Egypt cannot quickly enter through road access, and the bureaucracy at the border can prevent the entry of some cars and buses.
Egypt can be entered from the Middle East through two mainland crossings, from Israel to Sinai, at Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba and Rafah on the North Sinai Coast.
When traveling from Libya by road, regular buses are available between Alexandria and Cairo and Tripoli or Benghazi.
Many cruise ships visit Egypt as part of African itineraries. They are mainly available at Port Said and Alexandria, but please be informed that no regular ferry routes are currently available connecting Egypt to mainland Europe.
When traveling to Egypt by sea from Cyprus or Greece, there are many ferries obtainable from Limassol, in Cyprus, and Rhodes, in Greece, to Alexandria, in North Coast, operating during the summer.
When traveling to Egypt by sea from Jordan, many speedboats and ferries are running; here, the main crossing points are from Aqaba, in Jordan to Nuweiba and Taba, in the Sinai Peninsula.
When traveling to Egypt by sea from Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria, there are ferries operated from Antalya in Turkey, Beirut in Lebanon, and Lattakia in Syria to Alexandria, on North Coast, that is readily available.
When traveling to Egypt by sea from Saudi Arabia, regular direct ferries from Jeddah to Suez took 36 hours. Also, the car ferry service via the Suez Canal is there. During Hajj, these ferries are very over-crowded; making a booking in advance during this time is highly recommended.
Also, in Sudan, sporadic ferry service from Wadi Halfa to the High Dam in Egypt is often available.
Notes:
• Please note that embarkation and disembarkation points and itineraries for ferries/cruises are subject to change according to the port authorities’ instructions and are therefore out of our control. On occasion, this may include the closure of sites due to the rising levels of the waters or traffic.
• Occasionally there may be a possibility of a slight alternation in the itinerary of the cruise. However, all scheduled visits will be conducted when possible.
• Ferry times are not fixed year-round and are subject to change based on the season, time of the year, and weather, so it’s best to check in advance to avoid any inconvenience.
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