Cairo Airport

Not Verified | Be prepared to be treated like garbage: to take orders, to be de-possessed of your passport and wait for hours in a hallway (I have waited for 6 hours) on a plastic chair until a custom officer that will not tell you how much you have to wait will make some re-issuing of the boarding pass and let you go to the gate. Online check-in will not help you on the matter. Why wait in a lounge or in a restaurant when you can be humiliated and put to wait until short time before boarding time when they also do something about the checked-in baggage. However, an eight-hour period between the flights were not enough to get the checked-in luggage at the final destination; it remained probably in Cairo airport. No free wi-fi so be also prepared to pay dearly if you are in need.

Not Verified | Ms 996 flight on Aug.20 leaving Toronto Airport. After arrival 1.5 hour waiting at the conveyer to collect my Luggage after 10 hours trip. This is not acceptable by any standard.

✅ Trip Verified | There is no Wi-Fi if you don’t have local SIM card or data roaming. So when things go wrong (Egyptair messing up my connection) there’s no way to let anyone know or find information. There are no signs outside to show where shuttle buses stop. The security screening people are aggressive and rude. Officials pass you from one to the other, ducking responsibility and lying to your face. There is no reliable information eg the screen says the flight has departed but the gate was open another hour. It took me two hours for them to print me a transfer ticket and accommodation voucher. This is the worst airport I’ve ever been to - and I’ve been to a lot.

✅ Trip Verified | I arrived at Cairo Airport on 19th August from Manchester with tedious flight and luggage delays. Several hours later when my luggage arrived, it was not being released by customs. I ended up in detention, holding cell, court and released with clearance after 36 hours. I was asked to pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds which I refused at first but realised that if I don't pay, there is no chance of me getting out anytime soon despite my clearance. I was exhausted, in shock and wanted simply to return home. I agreed to pay 5,000 instead. By this time, I had signed documents of clearance along with confirming that I had collected my passport and items. Upon release, I was not given a receipt nor my items. I was told to collect my luggage from the terminal and enjoy the remaining 2 days of my holiday! The following 2 days I spent chasing my luggage, I was being pushed in various directions, asked for money and spoken to like a criminal. Nothing happened until I exploded at the tourist police desk the day before my departure demanding my luggage because I had had enough of the nonsense. I do not mind following the procedure as long as I am treated with respect and explained the process clearly. Barely anyone spoke English and I felt that everything I said, was being misinterpreted. There were members of staff who sympathised with me and had the courtesy to offer me water, food. I witnessed bribery in the police station, I witnessed absolute mess, unprofessionalism and most importantly, I experienced lack of humanity. I left the country in utter shock and fatigue.

✅ Trip Verified | The airport is quite functional and well designed. I arrived and departed from Terminal 3 which is easily accessible via a foot bridge from my hotel (Meridien Cairo Airport). So, it was very convenient to get out of and into the airport. On arrival, there is quite a distance to walk from gate to immigration/baggage collection. Immigration was easy (do get an e-visa before traveling!!) Staff at departure security check was very unfriendly and although there was a priority lane, nobody checked - so it was very crowded and chaotic. Check-in was friendly and efficient. Passport control was not. The immigration officer could not be bothered. He was messaging on his phone while I was waiting for my passport to be stamped and he was extremely unfriendly and arrogant. There is another security check at the gat which, again, was a very unpleasant experience as staff were very rude and unfriendly. Boarding was ok especially as the staff was paying attention that boarding groups were observed which was very good and reduced the usual chaos.

✅ Trip Verified | Well organized, good service, The airport vibe is very good. I arrived here from Netherlands and everything went very well. There are many options for food and coffee and other shops. The security is quite smooth.

✅ Trip Verified | Arrival: March 15 from British Airways BA 400. Luggage was lost and I had to return to the airport the next day to retrieve it. When I came back to the airport, no one was willing to help me retrieve my luggage. However, they were quick to ask for "tips". I was told repeatedly to come back until I offered to pay to get my luggage. Finally, someone came out and said he had my luggage but asked me "to take care of him by paying him." I had to pay him for doing his job and retrieving my own luggage. Departure: March 23 British Airways BA 401. We were all part of a tour group. We were asked if we were in a group and we said yes. Then the men were separated from the women. They went through security with no problems. They weren't asked to show their passports or tickets. But when it came to the women, the security was incredibly nasty. He kept asking 5 of us for our tickets and boarding passes. But we didn't even get our boarding passes yet because we had to go through security to get to the counter to collect out boarding passes. He kept yelling at us to get out. We had all our luggage and purses going through security and didn't even have our cell phones to pull up our flight confirmations. He wouldn't even listen to us. We had to yell for our husbands to collect out purses so we could retrieve our cell phones and show security our flight confirmation. He wanted to be paid to let us through. He just kept watching the 5 of us women while knowing that our husbands were right in front of him watching the entire ordeal. No one had the courtesy to intervene. This experience was horrible and we will definitely not be returning. The level of soliciting for bribes is shocking. And the audacity for the sheer arrogance of separating couples knowingly just to solicit for bribes is disgusting. Cairo International Airport is a disgrace!

✅ Trip Verified | Believe all the horror stories you read below. At the multiple security checks, with slow-moving lines, there are guys wanting a tip to "help" you through. Ditto for the washrooms etc. Inadequate signage means you have to try to find someone to give you help at an airport where few people are your friends. At one stage, I did discover a woman lurking behind an information counter, but she was reluctant to stop chatting with her mate on her mobile phone. When I did finally find a Star Alliance Gold fast-track lane, the security guys simply denied that my Swiss flight, for which I showed them my ticket, existed. They tried to send me out of the airport. I nipped round the corner to an economy lane and got through after yet another long wait. After more than an hour of this nonsense, Swiss said my flight was closed. They let me on after I begged, but I hold Swiss largely responsible for my experiences. I spotted in advance that their connection with a fellow Star Alliance flight from Luxor looked too tight, and they assured me I'd be fine. Thank you Swiss. The lesson of all this is that even the Pyramids aren't worth the experience of Cairo Airport.

✅ Trip Verified | I wanted to make an official complaint to the way I was spoken to and treated to and from Cairo (departed from London, Feb. 27th 14.00, left Cairo March 8th,17.00 respectively.) There didn't seem to be a complaints bureau of a sort so I will write a review here. On arrival at Cairo, going through a number of security checks, just before everyone got to the baggage reclaim area, I was taken to one side and asked yet more questions about my intended stay here, which was what all tourists do when they come to Egypt: to see the Pyramids and various temples. The return journey was more humiliating. This time a passport control staff who didn't believe my identity on my passport when I was asked "what is your 'real' nationality" not once but twice despite clearly reading on the passport that I'm British. She then asked "where do my parents come from" and since at the age of 53 and my parents have both died, it gets even worse when I then get stated "I must be an African because of my features."

✅ Trip Verified | As most people have stated in here, the place is a hassle to be dealt with. They will check your bags, ticket and passport numerous times, so come prepared and leave them handy. Porters can be pushy but all you have to do is tell them a firm "Lah shoukran" (No, thank you) and they will let you alone. Avoid making eye contact with locals as they will come to you in order to offer something for a tip. Same applies to the toilets, do not tip them, using the toilet is free of charge. If you use the local sim card, download careem or uber and you will save a lot of money with transportation. Flights are often late so eat and drink well before coming as the food and drinks are horribly expensive in here. One thing to note, Terminal 3 was very clean though. I will do my best to avoid Egypt from now on.