Sharm El Sheikh Airport

Not Verified | Here is the process at this airport. Queue at the entrance to show your passport to police. Just inside the door queue for a second PP check and to show ticket. All bags through scanner. You go through a scan. Everyone gets a pat down search - we have only just begun. Move forward 20 ft to random open bag search. Check in bags with PP and ticket check. Fill in exit form. PP check, photo taken, finger prints taken. not done yet. Remaining cabin bags scanned again. You go through a scan. Everyone gets another pat down. Move forward to random 3D body scan. …you’re in departures but not done yet… Queue with numerous other flights to enter the departure gates which requires a passport check. Random baggage search. Random pat down search. Head to the bus to plane, final passport check. If you haven’t been selected for a final body search you wait for those passengers that have. In all likelihood depart late. I also observe that in spite of or perhaps because of the amount of security the officers appear bored and distracted. Many are using their phones to chat or surf, open bag checks only look into the top, trays through scanners are rammed full to overflowing. Felt a bit like lots of people ticking lots of boxes.

Not Verified | Arrived 3 hours before the flight and then it went downhill from there. Arrived in the entrance and had to go through a first security barrier which took 40 minutes because the organisation was terrible. Some random person pushed my partner out the way and threw all our suitcases on the security belt then asked me for a tip and I told him to clear off. They needed more staff as bags were unattended for over 20 minutes and when I went through 3 staff members were on a prayer mat. I understand this is part of there religion and respect this but it didn't help with the chaos that was happening. Went to drop the hold luggage off which didn't take too long but it was still a bit confusing and they handed us a blue form which no one knew they had to fill out. Had to go through border control and went to go through but apparently had to fill out the blue form so we left the que for that like everyone else did and tried to get a pen. In the end my partner grabbed one from the bag drop desk even after being told she couldn't have one. So the form was filled out and we went through border control. Phase 4: Another security section where we had to do all the security rigmarole again. Take off shoes, belts, jewellery etc. No help from staff to get moving quickly which is why it took over half an hour. By this time they were calling on the tannoy for our flight to Bristol and it was starting to become a speed trial. Finally in the airports inner sanctum and through security x 2, bag drop, border control and form filling pen fiasco. Had to go to the loo by now so went down stairs to the food/shops area and had to go back up stairs to the loo. Went back down and went to the gate where there was another massive que with one entrance to 2 gates. Passports checked for the 5th time and managed to avoid the long random security check que after having a joke with the security guard about my beard. Got to the waiting area and 5 minutes later boarding commenced. So after arriving 3 hours early there was no time to go to the shops or have some food. I understand they need to be tight on security but it was a right palava.

✅ Trip Verified | Like most of the things in this country, Sharm el Sheik airport is very disorganized, first you line up for them to figure out if you need a visa or not, then you go to the bank counter to buy the visa, then you line up for immigration where they will make odd questions, especially if you look Middle Eastern, after you are stamped in, they will check all bags. Do not bring drones to the country I saw 3 passengers having their drones confiscated, taxis will be pushy, make sure you have your transfer booked. The airport appeared clean but everything was very very basic. Come prepared.

✅ Trip Verified | Worst airport possible. Heavily bureaucratic, filthy toilets, ridiculously expensive food (asking 3 Eur for a small Snickers bar). Checked passports 5x, luggage and personal checks 3x, tickets 4x. If you travel with children it's your nightmare. Staff are rude. Lots of useless forms to fill. Would have wanted to return to Sharm but airport experience makes it highly unlikely will do so.

Not Verified | What a shambles, security went through my bag and took packet of cigarettes for himself laughing present for me. We were bundled from pillar to post, no proper info, called the flight then told to sit down. Airport staff shouting at passengers being pushed onto leaving bus. We won't be returning to Egypt and have been in contact with British consulate. Terrible behaviour shouting especially at woman and children.

Not Verified | Complete chaos and confusion. It seemed like it was the first day at work for the entire airport staff. No one had a clue how to organize a smooth functioning system for check in, security, and even boarding. Just two gates were operative, the others were closed off with a make shift wall. Passengers were transported in buses from the gate to the plane. Just one small screen gave info to which gate to use. A staffer announced by screaming which plane was next at which gate. When the bus was full, the rest of the passengers had to wait endlessly for another bus. By that time, another plane was assigned the same gate, and others passengers mixed in the line. Eventually, the first group had to move to another gate, in the middle of boarding. It is unbelievable to me that the staff can go to work every day and not see that their system is rubbish, or find ways to improve it. Same problem in the cafes. No system for queuing. Or the computer broke down, leaving costumers unable to buy anything. The airport building looks to be of newer date, but the maintenance has been lost. Holes in the ceiling, run down bath rooms, and temporary walls all over. Security checks within meters of each others. What's the point in that? One guy was both operating the scanner and checking suspicious luggage, resulting in longer lines every time he had to stop to check someone's bag. No one made sure the boxes for items to scan was being moved back to the front of the scanner. I will never go back to this airport.

Not Verified | This place was always the worse part of visiting Sharm El Sheikh, however we've had enough and will not return just because of this airport. Definitely the worst airport I have ever been to. The most incompetent staff I have ever seen. There was only one small flight that needed to be checked in, they took more than an hour to do so. Chatting, no rush at all, and in the end almost missed the flight even though we arrived 2.5hr before. Dozens of people but no one had any idea what was going on. Ridiculous.

Not Verified | Awful place, worst airport I’ve ever used. All the criticism in other posts are correct. Departures are worse than arrivals. Two unsavoury characters grab your bags from the taxi driver and trolley them the short distance to the first of many passport checks. Continuing to demand more money all the time, they stop you taking your bags back, you have to shout and be aggressive and tell them to (go away?) to get your own property back. You’ll need to be quick to stop them getting your bags in the first place. Considering the security, it’s amazing this is allowed to go on with the blessing of other staff.

✅ Trip Verified | During the inspection of my belongings, the security officer accidentally dropped the basket with my laptop, phone, watch, and electronic cigarette. As a result, my laptop and watch got badly damaged. Fortunately, my phone was intact. After the incident, the agent just threw my belongings back into the basket without even feeling sorry for what had just happened-it seemed like it was my fault that he dropped it. The overall impression at the airport was terrible - the staff was extremely unprofessional.

✅ Trip Verified | Truly the most shocking airport I have ever had the misfortune to depart from. Huge question to enter the airport through one of 2 lanes scanning all baggage. This area was surrounded by people who may or may not have been airport staff, it was impossible to say. Once into the building, another huge queue to check in. No signage present giving directions to another queue at passport control, before a second security scan after yet more queuing. We were deposited in a small holding area, no departure information, no signage to the rest of the airport, containing restaurants and duty free. The next farcical event was to try and get 4 separate UK flights through a door the size of my bedroom door to get onto random buses. No signs just people near the front of the queue yelling the airline and destination. It was like a Rugby scrum of 200 people - very Covid friendly! To put a final dagger through the experience, food and drink were charged at Tokyo prices. The whole experience took around 3 1/2 hours. I’m amazed everyone made the flight. It would be enough to stop my return to Sharm in the future!