Cairo Travel Forum

Hi
I am finding the information in these forums quite useful Thanks to all you take the time to participate.
Now my question..we fly ( on EgyptAir) from Luxor to Cairo "arriving in Cairo at 9:00 AM and then catch our flight ( on EgyptAir) to Rome at 11 AM. Are the flights from Luxor to Cairo run on time generally? Is the transfer from the domestic terminal to the international terminal easy?
I am mostly concerned about the flight from Luxor arriving in Cairo on time. Is that almost certain? :)
Thanks
Doug

It is not a certainty that your Luxor-Cairo flight will arrive on time--I've had Egypt Air domestic flights leave up to an hour late. To be safe, I'd take the next earlier flight, even if it means you end up sitting around Cairo airport for an extra hour.

The other thing to keep in mind is that it is not simple at all to transfer from the domestic terminal to the international terminal at Cairo. There are actually two domestic terminals now--one of which is not even remotely within walking distance of any of the other terminals at CAI--and two international terminals. It is extremely confusing as to which one you will arrive at and which one you need to catch your next flight from. There is a free bus, but using it is challenging to say the least. The inter-terminal bus is not marked; nor is the bus stop; and I had to change buses halfway through the ten-minute trip!!

I did a similar transfer between domestic (Sharm el Sheikh-Cairo) and my two international flights (in from London, out to Dubai) this past March. I am an extremely experienced traveler and even I thought the whole thing was deeply confusing. The easy, but expensive, way to get between terminals is to pay for a cab. I find this an outrageous rip-off, so I made the effort to figure out the bus thing, which does exist, but is not made clear in any way by the airport. The most helpful people were the guys running the pickups for tour groups--they could tell me where to go, whereas the information desk in the airport could not. After about 25 minutes of wandering around outside the terminal and asking four different people for help, I got on the bus and ended up at the right place--by sheer luck I think.

thanks :) i read at the Cairo Airort webpage they have an Auntomated People Mover ( a red train looking shuttle service). Have you used this before?
The webpage also claims that EgyptAir domestic now uses Terminal 3. Which terminals are the International Terminals???? The website is not very clear on details lol

I believe the Domestic Terminal 3 is the one that is miles away from Terminals 1, 2, and 4. Honestly, I can't remember who flies from which one, and in fact even all of the EgyptAir domestic flights don't go from the same one. I walked from one of the international terminals to one of the domestic terminals in March EgyptAir was flying from there to *some* domestic destinations, but not to Sharm. For Sharm I had to go to another terminal, on the bus. It made no sense at all.

I just checked the airport website and it doesn't make things any clearer. In fact you can look at the Departures page right now and see one EgyptAir flight to Luxor that leaves from Terminal 3, Hall 1, and another one five minutes later--also to Luxor--that leaves from Terminal 1, Hall 2. Looking at the news items they have listed, they are talking about a lot of things having moved to Terminal 3 in the last few months. It still seems like a big mess. Don't cut your layover too fine.

I don't know what you are referring to with the "people mover" but what moved me was a rather grubby, unmarked bus. I didn't see anything that looked like a red carpet, that's for sure!

That airport website is awful. I wouldn't rely on it for anything. The maps are useless (bad links and there is no map at all for Terminal 3 or for the airport overall). And the transit/transfer page says basically nothing at all.

Hi there
I am not sure if there is a "Terminal 4" in Cairo airport. Treminal 3 has only recently opened and they are now gradually moving some services from other terminals to this one. This importantly includes many Egyptair flightss.
NO flight departure or arrival time anywhere in the world is anywhere near certain so, please do not expect that & the shorter the duration between one arrival the next departure , the higher the risk of things going wrong. If both flights are with Egypt air, then it is their responsibility to make sure you arrive at your destination and if you miss your second flight then they will take care of things for you.
I suggest you contact your local Egypt air office (by phone) and get info about the details of both flights (terminals etc...) just to put your mind at rest .. Best of luck

If you have time to spare travel by Egyptair.

theknight is right--there's no Terminal 4 per se, but the international terminal is split into two parts, one old and one new. As far as I know, EgyptAir international flights leave from the new part (I've flown out of there in the past on both EgyptAir and other airlines), but the Emirates flight to Dubai that I just took in March left from the old one. I think they are connected, but it's not clear to me how. And now, as per the airport website, some international flights have moved to Terminal 3. So I expect that my next trip to Egypt will be just as confusing as the last few trips. The airport has been under construction for something like seven years.

stewarth99 , This really happens everywhere .. Last year , I travelled to Cairo from Edinburgh via Air France .. The first flight was late by 3 hours and I missed my second flight.. Air France put us in one of the most terrible hotels I've ever seen and I ended up having to pay for the Cab who was waiting for me in Cairo the night before to take me Alex , twice his fare to come back on the next day as well .. I think this is just an occupational Hazard for all travellers !