CAIHECA

Cairo International Airport

Cairo · Egypt · Africa/Cairo

✈ Fly over CAI in Google Earth
3Runways
13,124Longest (ft)
322Elevation (ft)
79Route Records
45Airline Records
UTC+2Timezone
156Mapped Stands
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Traveler Guides

WiFi & ConnectivityeSIM, local SIM and airport WiFiLayover GuideHotels, tours and things to doGetting AroundTransfers, metro, taxi and busAirport LoungesPriority Pass, day passes, accessDining & DrinksRestaurants, cafés and quick bitesAircraft StandsGate & parking stand designatorsAccessibilityMobility, vision, hearing & PRM supportFlight Time EstimatorDistance, duration & timezone from CAI

Current Conditions

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Route Intelligence

48Well Connected
Shortest route
HBEAlexandria International Airport186.7 km
Marysya Airlines
Longest route
YYZToronto Pearson International Airport9,228.5 km
Egyptair
Nearest international
TLVBen Gurion International Airport393.8 km
Air Sinai
Longest international
YYZToronto Pearson International Airport9,228.5 km
Egyptair
Longest domestic
ASWAswan International Airport698.3 km
Marysya Airlines

Airport Connectivity Score

48/100

Well Connected

Destinations served79 destinations
Airline diversity45 airlines
Haul mix coverage4 of 4 distance categories

Calculated from destination count, airline diversity, and haul-mix coverage. More signals (customs/border access, ground handling capacity) will be added as the dataset grows.

Runways

05C/23C13,123 ftAsphaltLIT
05L/23R10,827 ftAsphaltLIT
05R/23L13,124 ftAsphaltLIT

Haul Mix

short-haul
24
medium-haul
45
long-haul
7
ultra-long-haul
3

Geographic Context

Nearest airport
CCECapital International Airport43 km
Nearest same country
CCECapital International Airport43 km
Nearest international
ETMRamon International Airport351.2 km
Farthest airport
TUBTubuai Airport19,259.4 km
Within 500 km: 24 airportsWithin 1,000 km: 76 airportsWithin 2,000 km: 308 airports

10 Nearest Airports

1CCECapital International Airport43 kmM
2SPXSphinx International Airport48.2 kmL
3PSDPort Said International Airport152.9 kmL
4RDLBardawil International Airport172.1 kmM
5HBEAlexandria International Airport186.7 kmL
6AACEl Arish International Airport255.3 kmL
7EGHEl Jora Airport284.9 kmM
8DBBEl Alamein International Airport295.3 kmL
9SKVSaint Catherine International Airport303.3 kmM
10TCPTaba International Airport330.9 kmM

ATC Frequencies8

APPAPP119.05 MHz
ATISATIS122.6 MHz
GNDGND121.9 MHz
MISCVOLMET126.2 MHz
PFLTPREFLIGHT120.1 MHz
rdocairo radio11.3 MHz
TWRTWR118.1 MHz
Volmet—124.6 MHz

Top Aircraft Types

320
61
738
46
E70
20
321
14
333
14
330
13
773
10
DH4
7
319
5
772
4

Sample Routes

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HBEAlexandria International Airport186.7 km
short-haulMarysya Airlines
ATZAsyut International Airport342.9 km
short-haulMarysya Airlines
SSHSharm El Sheikh International Airport375.8 km
short-haulMarysya Airlines
VIEVienna International Airport2,366 km
medium-haulEgyptair
AUHZayed International Airport2,378.1 km
medium-haulEtihad Airways
ADEAden International Airport2,379 km
medium-haulYemenia
CGKSoekarno-Hatta International Airport8,949.4 km
ultra-long-haulEgyptair
JFKJohn F. Kennedy International Airport9,016.7 km
ultra-long-haulEgyptair

Airline Records in Dataset45

A3Aegean Airlines
SUAeroflot Russian Airlines
8UAfriqiyah Airways
AHAir Algerie
G9Air Arabia
CAAir China
AFAir France
AIAir India Limited
4DAir Sinai
UJAlMasria Universal Airlines
AZAlitalia
OSAustrian Airlines
BABritish Airways
SNBrussels Airlines
MSEgyptair
EKEmirates
ETEthiopian Airlines
EYEtihad Airways
EOExpress One International
GFGulf Air Bahrain
J9Jazeera Airways
KLKLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KUKuwait Airways
LNLibyan Arab Airlines
LHLufthansa Cargo
MHMalaysia Airlines
M4Marysya Airlines
MEMiddle East Airlines
NPNile Air
WYOman Air
QRQatar Airways
ATRoyal Air Maroc
RLRoyal Falcon
RJRoyal Jordanian
SVSaudi Arabian Airlines
SKScandinavian Airlines System
SQSingapore Airlines Cargo
SASouth African Airways
SDSudan Airways
LXSwiss International Air Lines
+5 more

Data Notes & Community Corrections

Community corrections will appear here once verified travellers start contributing.

Community page — traveler reviews →

Dining & Drinks

Egyptian Local Cuisine
Coffee & Tea Lounges
Quick Transit Bites
Sit-Down Restaurant Dining
Full dining guide ↗

External Links

Wikipedia ↗
Data: OurAirports

Airport HistoryEst. 1963

Cairo International Airport traces its site to a World War II U.S. Army Air Forces base (John Payne Field), which Egypt's civil aviation authority took over after the war before opening the current airport in 1963 under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, replacing the older Almaza/Heliopolis Airport. It has since grown into the primary hub of EgyptAir and Nile Air and one of the busiest airports on the African continent, expanding through four terminals — most recently the large Terminal 3, opened in 2009 and among the biggest in the Middle East. A World Bank-supported redevelopment of Terminal 2 completed in 2016, and a further Terminal 4 is in early planning as of 2026 to push capacity toward 30 million passengers a year.

✦The modern airport sits on the site of a World War II U.S. Army Air Forces base, John Payne Field.
✦It replaced the earlier Heliopolis (Almaza) Airport, Cairo's original civil airfield, when it opened in 1963.
✦Terminal 3 is one of the largest airport terminals in the Middle East.
✦It is the primary hub for both EgyptAir and the low-cost carrier Nile Air.
✦Its ranking as Africa's busiest airport has fluctuated over the decades — Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo overtook it in 1996.
1945
Site transferred to Egyptian civil aviation

The site, built during WWII by the U.S. Army Air Forces as John Payne Field, was handed to Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority after American forces withdrew, laying the groundwork for the modern airport.

1963
Terminal 1 opens, replacing Heliopolis

The current airport's Terminal 1 was inaugurated on 18 March 1963 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser, replacing the older Heliopolis (Almaza) Airport as Cairo's main airport.

1986
Terminal 2 opens

A second terminal with seven gates opened in 1986 to add capacity.

2009
Terminal 3 opens commercially

Terminal 3, inaugurated in December 2008 and opened commercially on 27 April 2009, became the airport's largest terminal, designed for around 11 million passengers annually and serving as EgyptAir's main hub facility.

2016
Terminal 2 redevelopment completed

A major Terminal 2 redevelopment, supported by a $280 million World Bank loan, reopened in September 2016 with fourteen gates, up from the original seven.

2026
Terminal 4 in planning

A proposed Terminal 4, estimated at $3.5-4.5 billion, is in early planning stages as of 2026 and could raise total capacity toward 30 million passengers annually.

Operator
Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation / Cairo Airport Company1963 – presentState-owned operator; air navigation services are handled separately by the National Air Navigation Services Company.

Editorial content based on Wikipedia, Egypt's civil aviation portal, and aviation trade press as of August 2026; claims about Cairo being 'the busiest airport in Africa' are disputed/time-sensitive since competing airports (notably O.R. Tambo) have held that title at different points.