Cairo Airport

✅ Trip Verified | This airport is a disgrace to Egypt. If the country wants to attract tourists back it needs to completely overhaul it, including ensuring corruption-free and polite process administration. The whole thing is a mess but the absolute worst part is the main area security staff. They simply ask you for money and seem to target young westerners in particular. Having been asked for money and having refused, I then watched while one security guy searched through my son’s bag, while still sitting at his screen station, looking for, finding and then opening my son’s wallet. On finding it completely empty (luckily my son had given all his money to me) my son was allowed to pass. Check in was ok apart from a man shouting at the line for reasons that no one could work out. On to passport control and a gym chewing, un-smiling, not sure why I bothered to get out of bed young woman was who we met next. The service is the cafe area is very poor. Long lines and the place is very dirty. When you get to the gate there is a better security process but no indication that there are male and female lines until you find yourself nearly at the front of the wrong line. The few helpful and pleasant staff that we came across must find it so difficult that their reputation is damaged by what is clearly a systematic “I don’t care” approach. Come on Egypt. You can do better than this. Your country and people are warm and welcoming. Let the airport be a proud gateway to this.

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.

Not Verified | Worst airport I have ever come across, very embarrassing. Airport staff shamelessly hustle you for tips. From the moment you got through screening, to check in, to boarder control. At some point I refused to tip and they marked my passport so that I would go through further checks.

I am using Cairo airport on a regular basis (T1 and T2) and it is not really an enjoyable place to get through. CAI is just disorganised people jump queues crowd control at departure is inexistant signage is inconsistent and the chaos at passport control (Terminal 1) is something worth being filmed although immigration officers do an obvious effort to be polite on arrival. Options for transport to the city vary between shabby taxis and being ripped off by so called limousine agencies. No trains or decent buses are available. Terminal 3 has recently opened and let's hope that is gives a better image of the country.

❎ Unverified | I have been to more than 25 airports worldwide and Cairo has by far been the worst experience I have ever had. Immigration officers are extremely rude and unapologetic. Workers are tricky. They always expect tips. It is a nightmare and a horrible experience to travel through.

✅ Trip Verified | Just terrible employee customer service. Abysmal attitude by all airport employees. Security staff extremely rude and demanding. Frisking everyone like a prisoner. Just have not seen this bad of an airport since back flying internationally this year. If they want business and tourist visitors, they need to change the customer service quick. Airport is hot and not clean. Restrooms smell and need service.

✅ Trip Verified | This is the absolute worst airport I have ever been in. I have lived in developing countries and traveled from airports in those countries - including provincial towns in Siberia and Kurdistan in Iraq - and so far no experience has been as bad as Cairo. I have transited through Cairo twice in the past week and both times were truly awful. It is bad enough that even though I prefer to save money any way that I can and often that is through less enjoyable airports, I won’t do it again. My first experience at Cairo airport was a week ago. I was transiting from Tunisia to Iraqi Kurdistan and withdrew money. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get cash in Kurdistan, so I wanted to get money first and exchange it during my long layover. The atms only give Egyptian pounds. None of the currency exchanges would allow me to change them to dollars even though they had signs displaying that they would. They told me if I got a visa and went out to arrivals, I could exchange it there. I was nervous enough about accessing dollars I went ahead and did that since I had a very long layover. When I went to arrivals, they told me no, in departures there is a currency exchange that will give dollars. That was a lie too. When I went past passport control and into the departures area, I was told that nowhere could I exchange that money. When I arrived in Kurdistan, my checked bag had my toiletries and other containers opened up and poured messily into my bag like someone was looking to see if I had anything worth taking. Maybe this wasn’t them, but I’m inclined to believe it was. Unfortunately for them it was only dirty clothes, because I carry anything sentimental or valuable in my carry on. My second experience has been awful as well. Flying from Erbil on Egypt Air (also a horrible airline) and to Canada via Amman on Royal Jordanian. I was told I’d need to get my boarding pass in Cairo. They gave some random airport worker my passport, and it went from one random airport person to another with no explanation. I was escorted to the transfer info area where the person holding my passport will not allow me to leave and will not return my passport. I am very worried at this point if I will get my passport back or my boarding pass before my flight. It has been 4.5 hours since I had anything to eat or drink - or used the bathroom - but I am afraid to leave because the guy keeps wandering off with my passport in hand, and I am afraid it will really disappear if I leave since he refuses to give it back. I have tried to communicate using google translate but he refuses to give information or answer basic questions. I had really thought about visiting Cairo during this trip, but these experiences at the airport make me never want to return to this country, even just to transit. Horrible airport. Maybe the country itself is not like this, but I’m okay with never finding out.

What a total disaster of an Airport. Huge bottleneck of people squashed into the security area. Then a bottleneck to check in, then a bottleneck mass questions to pass Visa and passport inspection. Then a another slow passport inspection by a solo staff member. Then another before going to your gate - awful design. Very bad management. Never again.

Complete nightmare avoid this airport at all costs. Badly laid out and staff are rude and unhelpful. Overpriced food dirty bathrooms generally unpleasant. Smokers everywhere. Unfortunately had to spend a total of 11 hours there - never again. Pyramids are not worth this.

✅ Trip Verified | This airport is the worst airport ever. They gave you only 30 minutes free Internet and that's it. Seats are not comfortable. The employees trying the whole time to get money from you. Transit in Cairo? Please do yourself a favour and fly somewhere else.

Cairo Airport Terminal 1 is one of the worst travel experiences I have encountered. Everything about the terminal is unpleasant; from arriving at the terminal to boarding your flight or indeed arriving at the terminal and leaving the terminal is beyond comprehension. What makes it more astounding is carriers such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways operate into the terminal. Bring on the new terminal, but when will it be completed?

Absolutely horrible! Upon arrival before passport control aggressive touts approach you form all sides trying to get money for helping you trough immigration or for organising taxis. Completely unnecessary "help"! Departure hall chaotic and people smoking every where. Filthy toilets stinking from far away! Hard to understand how a country with tourism being so important and with special tourist police doesn't do anything about the airport!

✅ Verified Review | Where to start, this is possibly the worst airport ever on this planet? I have been living in Egypt for two years, and this was my weekly nightmare when coming in and out for a business trip. People everywhere try to take your luggage from you, starting from outside the terminal. To enter you need to queue in the middle of the street, where tens of people try to push forward, and bored police people ask to see your passport and then go trough the pages, of course not checking anything. Then you queue again to screen your luggage and all the suitcases are pushed on top of each other while you need to remove your shoes in a super dirty floor to pass by a non attached metal detector where you get the first of the many pat down. Does not matter if you have phone, wallets etc the police person will look at your passport and want to see a print of your itinerary or reservation. Digital does not count apart if you do not convince them. They will sometimes ask if you have money as there is a limit of cash that can exported. Finished this you need to queue for the boarding pass and fill in a forms that none will ever read. Another queue at passport control and after you get a stamp another police guy will check that you have been stamped. The airport is then dirty, with filthy bathrooms, and everything smells of smoke of cigarettes. Lounges are the worst as well and the food is expensive and dirty. No place to seat and usually very cold inside. Finally another queue at the gate, where there is another luggage control where people working there do not know any rules about security. Sometimes they try to take batteries off you, other times there is something else. You just smile at them and usually everyone passes. The metal detector is not really working, as they will do anyway a pat down to each passenger. Of course remove your shoes again in a even dirtier floor. When you finally make it on the plane they will check again your boarding pass if travelling with EgyptAir. And sometimes another police will check again your stamp on the passport, why not? Arriving is not nicer either. The first thing I remember was the smell of cigarettes when you go into the terminal. Then you need to buy a 25 USD sticker, and be prepared to have it in cash and do not expect change, unless you want to be fooled. A colleague of ours, once, paid 60 USD. Then you queue for the stamp, another police will check again your stamp, get your luggage and queue again for customs guys that look at all the pages of your passport (or pretend to), pretend to know what you have by touching the exterior of your suitcase and raising it. Finally you are out and hordes of taxi drivers will try to take your luggage from you by force or lure you with some "great offer" or "limouisine". If you stay at a hotel that offers it, organize a meet and greet and then maybe finally leave this nightmare of an airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Shocking service as we had a wheelchair person in our group and they did not find the chair, causing the whole group to miss tours. PR person said their feedback would happily surprise us but they just passed us on to the next person and their offer was enough to purchase 2 x cooldrinks at the airport. Follow up communication reads "but we tried-so so sorry" -but no real problem resolution at all

✅ 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.

Probably one of the worst airports I have been to. It hasn't improved in 10 years. The arrivals terminal is poorly signed and gives no information on how and where to buy an entry visa. Taxi drivers are permitted to harass you before you even have passed customs. On departure it is not much better, long queues to check in, to pass through immigration and to board the flight. was lucky enough to be told two completely different things about 10 seconds apart when boarding, just held everyone up even longer.

✅ Trip Verified | I was travelling to Dubai on flight MS 905 from Cairo at Terminal 2 on 9 July 2021. The immigration supervisor at terminal 2 was rude and harassed me by doubting my passport and was extremely rude. I am a frequent traveler and never been disrespected like that. I complained to another supervisor and he apologized and told me that he will speak to this arrogant and ill mannered individual. The immigration male supervisor at terminal 2 was not old and came to the immigration counter after being called by an inexperienced female immigration clerk at the counter. This is not the way to treat visitors to the country who bring and spend money. Be grateful and have some manners. This is the way duty is done by professional immigration people around the world. Do it with Egyptian people, not with selected international travelers.

Cairo is possibly the worst airport I have travelled through. The entry was like entering a market with no lines, people pushing and no one to maintain order. The police at the entrance are callous, disorganised and don't care - taking an age to do anything. In departures, the only seating available is in each gate which only open 50 minutes prior to departure. If you check in early you either stand around or go to the food court. The announcements are mostly in Arabic even though Cairo is frequented by tourists. No aerobridge which is pathetic and hellish for anyone with mobility issues.

Not Verified | Worst airport ever. Over staffed by people trying to rip you off. A seeming lack of management, and goodness knows what is getting through security. Generally dirty and unsafe.

Not Verified | I am a marine engineer and my work requires travelling abroad very often. I have been to many airports and I can say for sure that Cairo is the worst of them all! First of all it's cleanliness is below average and the airport staff are rude when you are asking for information. The worst part though is the check that is being done before you enter to your gate area. Due to work I have to carry with me an electronic device (Ultrasonic Thickness Device). I was not letting it go with my check-in baggage because I don't want to risk any loss of it. In every airport I don't have any issues with it. In Cairo they asked me about it and said it is illegal and they have to destroy it saying that it is enlisted as non-carry on equipment. I told them that nowhere on the Cairo airport site does it say about it being illegal to be transferred to carry-on baggage and after a long talk he said to me that he will do me a favor to let me take it but next time he will destroy it. I will surely try to avoid travelling there again.

✅ Trip Verified | I can not say enough bad things about this airport. I’ll start with the worst, the airport staff. They take luggage out of your hand without asking and pester you for tips for transporting it 2 meters to the x-ray machine when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself. Security is the worst! I came for a parachuting event and brought my parachute as hand luggage. It is both safe and permissible to do so, and I have never had problems at any other airport. I had the proper documentation and permission to do so. They were unbelievably ignorant, extremely rude, and not willing to listen to you. My gear was extremely expensive and the reason I carry it on is to protect it because it can’t be fully reimbursed through airline if lost. Not only did they force me to check it in after a long argument but they did not allow me to wrap it in plastic to protect my very expensive gear. There is a huge chance of my gear being damaged, thrown around and dirty! Due to the fact that my safety handles could have been dislodged I’m going to have to get it professionally inspected and my reserve parachute repacked before using again. The airport is plain and very dirty, the food horrible. A lot of the airport smelt like cigarette smoke. I bought two unreasonably expensive muffins and they were hard as a rock and completely stale. Disgusting. Then I tried the pizza, the worst pizza I have ever had. Over priced and tastes horrible. Shame because outside of the airport I enjoyed Cairo so much! This airport is the sole reason I probably won’t ever return to Egypt.

Not Verified | My experience at Cairo International Airport haunts me, so I will not visit that beautiful country again. Leaving many of the irritating things that I went through at the Airport aside. The staff are so arrogant and annoying that they will not correctly respond to anything you ask. The worst thing is the staff ask you for a bribe openly to do anything, whether you want your luggage to go through security or check-in. There is no dedicated place where they check your luggage, my luggage was opened, which is fine, they should check it in detail if they think anything is wrong. But my luggage was opened on the floor, and everything was removed and kept on the floor. The entire line was stopped till this thing was going on, and my luggage was kept on the floor like an exhibition, after which I had to pick up everything from the floor. There were a lot of things wrong during arrival as well, but it was tolerable, but my experience during departure made me feel repulsed to even travel to Egypt again. PS: it is a beautiful country with amazing food, and you should visit it once at least.

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.

I arrived and departed to Madrid on IB and also domestic on EgyptAir. Signs and announcements are confusing was given wrong departure gate and staff are unresponsive and unhelpful. Terminal sheathed in decaying white ceramic makes it seem like an old WC. It took 2 hours to get past security and immigration long queues and total chaos and no food except one cafe with sweets and bread both not recommended. Very hungry. Domestic Arrivals much worse. No working signs at all in baggage reclaim only 2 working belts for all flights so luggage split across more than one belt extremely over crowded and no information. Wasted 90 mins locating luggage. Touts all around arrivals to "help" with luggage taxis whatever. No control or rules at all. Very aggressive hassle in taxi area. New terminal should now be open may be better structurally but I doubt will help resolve biggest problem of general disorder and confusion is worker issue not infrastructure. New metro line will avoid taxi touts though. Not recommended for transfer passengers but if flying onward in Egypt or to/from Cairo no real choice.

✅ Trip Verified | We arrived 3 hours early for a flight to Greece. We checked in online but we’re not issued boarding passes as the airport requires you to check in in person. So we get to the first security gate right at the entrance of airport and they tell us the check point is a closed for economy and that we cannot pass thru until an hour before our flight. Then they say that they will let us pass, they can open the gate now. They proceed to grab our bags and pass them thru security and then ask for money. We go thru security to get to the check in area, but then the security agent stops us and starts looking thru our bags then demands money in order to let us pass. That the airport is a business, so the agents who are checking our bags are shaking us down for money. Absolutely ridiculous! You expect this at the tourists sites but not at an international airport by the staff. Never again.

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.

Flew from KL arrived with Emirates at CAI Terminal 1. This terminal is awful. Upon arrival people rushed to the immigration where only 5 counters were open both for Egyptians and foreigners resulting in long queue. Immigration officer was just rude threw my passport after stamping it. Waited for about half an hour for my luggage. Toilet beside the carousel dirty and disgusting. Before exiting the airport custom officer requested to see my passport and scan my luggage. After scanning them they asked for "tips" and won't let me pass through after I pay them some money. That's not it after exiting the terminal annoying taxi drivers started to surround and trying to take away my trolley. Thank god I had someone waiting for me. When we reached to our car two men out of nowhere came and grabbed our luggage and put them into the boot and then asked for tips. This whole arriving experience was nightmare. Overall it was a bad arriving experience after you have flown for 10+ hour flight.