Cairo Airport

I think I was surprised to experience such a modern airport in Africa I fly frequently to different cities in Africa and I mostly face terrible and hard times with every flight. Last week I flew Egyptair to a transit in Cairo with a connection to Lagos. The airport is clean nice well organized and easy to move in.

Cairo T3. Arrival from Sharm for connection to Heathrow. Incoming aircraft parked at a remote stand and we were bussed via what seemed a circuitous route to the terminal. Followed directions for flight transfer to reach emigration; this takes place in a small room with just a couple of desks and embarkation cards are only handed out as you enter this room. Cue lots of passengers suddenly dropping bags and scrabbling around for pens passports and flight details. Emigration officers rather brusque. Once processed proceeded into the main terminal building which is modern slick and attractive with all the facilities you would expect. Only complaint – gate for flight to London hadn't been opened when I reached it and there was limited seating in the pier outside. Once open security again rather brusque but plentiful seating at gate itself.

Going through the much-touted terminal three there was nothing open for a morning departure - save for Duty Free and a handful of snack bars. Surprisingly I encountered no shakedown attempts from employees but then again the airport is understaffed. Arrival in terminal 1 was uneventful but still confusing. It's not as if you'll have many other options if you're flying to Egypt and are on a tight schedule.

Truly one of the most awful airport experiences I have encountered. From the minute you land you are hassled by 'officials' offering taxis trips to pyramids. Trying to get free shuttle bus from terminal 3 to terminal 1 you will be told there isn't one a taxi will offer to take you the 2km journey for $10 which should only be $2. Airport staff grab your bags and take to x-ray machines and then expect a gift. As somebody who lives in Egypt I try to avoid this airport and would rather fly out of Sharm to England.

I passed through Terminal 3 when flying from Istanbul to Luxor and was pleasantly surprised. On arrival the visa windows were well signposted and immigration quite efficient. I made my way to the Domestic floor without being hassled by anyone indeed there only seemed to be about a dozen people in the whole Terminal. Quiet clean plenty of places to sit or get coffee water and something to eat. On return from Luxor I just followed the signs for connecting flights and went quickly through security only to find my Egyptair flight to Istanbul was delayed by 55 minutes. But there were shops to look at and decent looking food outlets too.

Cairo airport must be the most awkward airport in the world. I have flown through all 3 terminals so I know it quite well. There is no point in referring to the appalling terminal 2 as it is no longer in operation. The quality of staff and security processes are the biggest issues in my opinion. Regarding the staff there seems to be a scam between airport officials and taxi drivers to hand you over to the drivers that will rip you off. If you can prearrange transport you will be able to avoid that. There are 2 members of staff at passport control. The first will look at your passport and put the visa sticker on it and the second one will stamp it. And they both sit side by side. You have to security scan your suitcases before you check-in which causes absolute chaos. The stories are endless about this airport. On the up it is a clean airport modern and spacious with good duty free and good dinning options. And I have to say I have seen some improvements over the last 2 years which shows that Egyptians are making an effort to improve it.

Upon arrival before passport control touts approach you trying to get money for helping you through immigration or for organizing taxis. Completely unnecessary help! Departure hall chaotic and people smoking everywhere. Filthy toilets. Hard to understand how a country with tourism being so important and with special tourist police doesn't do anything about the airport.

Arrived at 2am from Amsterdam. Immigration was quick and easy. Bags arrived quickly. Went to airport shuttle without any issues. However the departure from Terminal 1 was horrible. From the moment I was dropped off I was hounded with offers to "help". Additionally the airport employees are definitely part of the scheme to mis-guide you leading you to a position where you feel like you have to pay someone to get you to the correct place. The trip to Cairo was great but the lack of organization and the constant attempts to take money from you really soured the departure.

Arrived late at night on Air France and were towed to a remote gate. Bussed for ages to Terminal 3 for customs. The agent was cold and rude not pleasant after a long 2 days of flying. He only gave some of our group arrival stamps which was strange. The terminal itself was beautiful and very western except for broken toilets in the bathrooms. The next morning the 5am Egyptair to Aswan. The terminal requires security to reach check in then once again at the gate. I don't think they even looked at the first screening. The airport was clean and very modern. Boarding through the gate was strange as a man opened the door and simply said "time to board" not through a PA system or anything. Departing on Air france a week later through terminal 1 was crazy. People can pay security a few dollars to jump ahead cutting our group of kids into chunks. Check in was painfully slow but that is the airline's fault. Customs heading out was fast and the man gave me a strange look for not having an arrivals stamp. At the gate one metal detector was there to screen our airbus 330! Again 5 pounds and passengers were escorted to the front of the line. We were then bussed out to our plane back to the civilized world.

Cairo terminal 3 is spacious with great Star Alliances lounges and efficient check in/immigration facilities. It took less than 30 minutes from touch down to be on a cab to town.