Cairo Airport

Simply the most chaotic airport well not as chaotic as Jeddah airport however as a reputable country like Egypt should have a better terminal than this joke small claustrophobic building since the 1960s the most annoying issue was the people harassing you for taxis and limousines and for luggage assistance why it is not organized like everywhere else. 3 passport control desks during a busy period of the day with so many flights going everywhere queue felt like forever duty free is ridiculously expensive more expensive than market prices and than any other place in the world. Basic facilities in terms of cafes and restaurants dirty bathrooms couldn't even use it. How this is an airport in a country with tourists from everywhere. Have to use it every few months as family lives there.

Arrived from JNB early morning. Very expensive and poorly laid out. Unsmiling staff and very long queues to transfer. Toilets were filthy with no toilet paper or soap and no attendants around to ask for help.

Flew BKK-CAI-BKK and for arrival as well as for departure all went perfect with some minute issues. On arrival all went without a hitch from arrival (bussed to terminal) passport control and bags were delivered fast. The T3 is used by Egyptair and Star Alliance. Modern and airy. Official taxis at 6 am refused the official taximeter price but there was no other option. Departure was all right but the crowds at the first X-ray and checking the tickets as only passengers are allowed to the Check In counters. So many people and bit of chaos. Watch your bags as they seem to send them through the scanner and you end up stuck by the metal detector for your turn. Once you cross that everything else is s breeze. Check in took seconds passport control fast. Air side several interesting shops but I have to say they are truly expensive. So shame on you Cairo airport charging for a small 500ml bottle of normal water 25EGP when it costs roughly 1.5EGP. Second X-ray and documents check when entering the gate itself. The gates are well placed but there is no place to sit if the gate is still closed.

I was in Terminal 3 for a morning flight to Istanbul. I was very impressed with the airport cleanliness and facilities. The duty free shops had plenty of good and moderately priced merchandise. Moreover there were several food outlets all with good quality and satisfying different tastes. This airport is also good for transiting passengers.

For an airport which is less than 5 years old and which was (presumably) purpose-built for its home carrier Egyptair CAI is a horrific experience. The terminal is built in a V-shape with F and G gates extending along the arms of the 'V'. H gates are for flights accessible by bus and the gates are downstairs at the base of the V. There is no real holding area where passengers can wait for their flights except two largeish restaurants. As a result the arms of the terminal (i.e. the F and G gates) are severely crammed with passengers awaiting flights. The layout of each arm means that access between the restaurants and the F/G gates re often blocked by passengers queuing for flights and every available seat was taken. I visit the airport twice in September. On the first occasion I was changing from Egyptair to Ethiopian (both international flights) and had to hand in my passport for it to be checked by immigration. Surely this contravenes the laws of international transit? I then had to go back downstairs to international arrivals to pick up my passport and get a re-issued boarding card one hour before departure of my ET flight. On the second trip I was changing between MS flights so I thought "great no problem". However my onward boarding card was handwritten and was forced to join the long international transit passenger queue by some unpleasant jobsworth. There were around 10 people behind the counter but only one was actually doing any work. It was only when a second official asked if anybody had an onward boarding card that I managed to queue-jump and get a re-issued printed boarding card quickly. Internet access is available outside one of the several lounges for Star Alliance Business/First class passengers. Finally there is a smoking room opposite gate F2 but this was simply disgusting: dirty too small and with just three chairs. If an airport is going to offer smoking facilities to its guests it should either do it properly or not at all.

Perhaps some travelers are satisfied by a new airport building. I am happy if I must not stay at any airport for longer than necessary. Cairo is a very bad example for ignoring customers. My flight from Nairobi with Egyptair was delayed almost 90 minutes! There was no explanation and wrong information from airline staff. It would have been no problem to get the connection flights. But Cairo seems to want to avoid delays in their statistics. So they sent the connection flights.

Flew to and from Cairo Intl T1 the old renovated terminal for all international airlines T3 is for Egyptair and star alliance which I try to avoid as much as possible since it is big and crowded T1 is small and sometimes can get congested as well but in my view still better. Arrived and bussed to terminal since there are no air bridges here arrival hall is a very small claustrophobic room not the cleanest however surprisingly didn't queue much for passport control. Waiting for luggage felt like forever taxi drivers trying to grab you and your luggage is still an annoying issue departure was a better experience. I prefer the coziness of T1 still in good shape and has a decent food and beverage outlets and small nice duty free though very annoying with the non stop flight announcements for departure and arrival I wonder why it was only in Arabic. Still better than the chaotic T3 and lets wait and see the outcome of the major renovation of T2.

A new terminal has been added to the old one - that means that when you arrive and remote parked there is a quite long drive to the terminal. As everything in Egypt arrival can be quite stressful you need to buy your entrance ticket (visa) by the exchange offices you might as well change money at the same time. Then you go through passport/visa control and then luggage area. you might be asked again for a passport check before leaving the airport. Coming out of terminal please hold on to everything you have as strangers will grab your luggage without asking and expect a tip. Even if you have an ordered transfer they let the strangers take it - everybody makes the most out of emptying the tourists pockets. In case you are arriving at international and need a connecting domestic flight it can be a bit tricky but follow the signs and ask your way to a small corridor - which by the way is a very popular praying area. When you arrive at the airport terminal touts will round you up and ask if you are flying Egyptair (it is the Egyptair terminal so of course you are) they pretend they are VIP handlers and take your luggage to first security screening demanding money before you enter. Check in is slow. Until you reach your plane you will be subjected to 4-6 security checks and many of them ask you to pay tips - even cleaning staff will follow you into the toilets handing you toilet paper and ask for money. There are shops and eateries which are overpriced. Use all Egyptian pounds before entering the terminal- they do not change it back. When boarding first you go through security screening then one person checks your boarding card and passport then you walk 1 meter and a new security person checks your boarding card and passport - and before you enter the airplane another security person checks your boarding card.

Flew in and out from Cairo airport with KLM (Business Class). Skyteam flies to terminal 1 (the face lifted old terminal with no sky bridges). Its a nice terminal since T2 is in complete renovation and I suspect they will return there and T3 is only Egyptair and Star Alliance. Arrival was on time but many passengers as there were 2 planes from Saudi Arabia. Bags already waiting and out in no time. Taxis hunting for arrivals so a good idea to avoid them and take an official taxi to avoid rip off. NO Sky Priority for any Business class passengers. Departure was a breeze at check in. No priority fro C class passengers at passport control. Couple of nice shops and cafes. The C class lounge is quiet and nice with non-functional internet which managed to irk most guests. The holding boarding gate is too small to hold a full B777 so it caused great discomfort to passengers and the numerable carts and wheelchairs. Very claustrophobic. Bussing to and the terminal is OK. T3 is far better to handle crowds and is up to par with other international airports. T1 is functional but needs a little help.

I flew into and out of terminal 3. Check-in was ok with a little wait and some confusion over which was the right desk to check into. My main issue was with the price of the food drinks and duty free. I know airport prices are usually high but this was ridiculous. A bottle of water which costs 1.50 EGP in the street cost 10 EGP - a very high markup indeed. Main message - eat before and bring drinks/snacks for the terminal/plane. On arrival we had to jump on a bus to get to the terminal itself from the plane but after that the passport area was easy to pass through (we already had a visa) baggage collection no worries and then customs didn't even bother to check our bags. As others have said the most annoying part of arrival is the tour guides/taxi drivers you run into after leaving the arrivals area. Yes the airport should at least keep them out of the terminal and have a proper system to deal with taxis. Try to pre-arrange transport if you can and if you can't ask the place you are staying for a fair estimate of a taxi fare and only get in a taxi that agrees to your fare. If you are after an experience and not sweat the small stuff you will be rewarded greatly.