World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Cairo International Airport (CAI)
Tel: (02) 291 4255 (both terminals).

Cairo International Airport is located 22km (14 miles) northeast of central Cairo and is the main international gateway to Egypt. It has two terminals. Terminal one (also referred to as the Old Airport) is mainly used by the national carrier, EgyptAir, for both domestic and international flights, while terminal two (the New Airport) is used by other international airlines. The terminals are roughly three kilometres (two miles) apart and are linked by a free 24-hour EgyptAir shuttle bus.

Major airlines: EgyptAir is the national airline and has several offices in Cairo (tel: (02) 390 0999 or 393 2836 or 245 0270 (24 hours) or 290 8453 or 245 0260 or 391 4501). Other major carriers include Air Canada, Air France, Air India, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Cyprus Airways, Czech Airlines, El Al, Delta, Gulf Air, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Olympic, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swissair, Thai Air, TWA, Tunis Air, Turkish Airlines and United Airways.

Approximate flight times to Cairo: From London is 5 hours; from New York is 11 hours; from Los Angeles is 15 hours; from Toronto is 13 hours 20 minutes and from Sydney is 21 hours.

Airport facilities: These include foreign exchange, a tourist information counter, snack bars, duty-free shops and a restaurant.

Arrival/departure tax: None.

Transport to the city: Although there are bus connections into the city, the best option is to take a taxi, which should cost approximately E£30-£35. An official taxi from outside the terminal is recommended; visitors should avoid bargaining with taxi touts inside. There is also an official ‘limousine taxi’ service from terminal one, with fixed fares, which is convenient but costs almost twice as much as an ordinary taxi. Even more convenient, and more expensive, are the limousine transfers offered by luxury hotels, which cost from around E£50 (to hotels in nearby Heliopolis) to around £E100 (city centre). The taxi ride to/from the centre takes 30 minutes to one hour depending on traffic.