NORTH AFRICA
Egypt
A crossroads between Europe, the Gulf and Africa, with EgyptAir, a large tourism market and growing airport capacity.
Market overview
Egypt's air market is growing fast on the back of tourism. Its airports handled 28 million passengers in 2025, up 22.3%, and flights rose 20.7% to 209,800. Growth is centred on Cairo and the Red Sea and Sinai resorts. EgyptAir is growing and renewing its fleet together. It now targets 125 aircraft by 2030, up from last year's goal of 97, and is looking for 28 more narrowbody and widebody aircraft for delivery by then. It took its first Boeing 737 MAX in 2026, the first of 18 leased from SMBC Aviation Capital. The state is also opening airport management to private operators. Hurghada is the pilot, run with the IFC, and 68 international companies and groups have collected the qualification papers. The government stresses that private firms will run management and commercial activities, not own the airports. For suppliers, the openings are in airport operation and commercial services, new-type support for the MAX fleet, cabin and IT upgrades, and training as EgyptAir grows.
At a glance
- Main hubs
- Cairo International; Hurghada; Sharm El Sheikh
- Flag carrier
- EgyptAir
- Airport operator
- Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation ↗
- Training body
- EgyptAir Training Academy
Hub airlinetourism airportsairport expansionMRO
Key facts
- 28 million passengers through Egypt's airports in 2025, up 22.3% from 22.9 million (Dec 2025).
- 209,800 flights in 2025, up 20.7% (Dec 2025).
- EgyptAir targets 125 aircraft by 2030, up from a goal of 97, and seeks 28 more aircraft for delivery by 2030 (June 2026).
- EgyptAir took its first Boeing 737 MAX, the first of 18 leased from SMBC Aviation Capital (May 2026).
- Hurghada private-management tender: 68 companies and groups collected the qualification papers (2026).
Key figures
Passengers carried (2023)
16,672,111
2023 · rank 21 of 52
2019–2023
Air freight, million tonne-km (2023)
493
2023 · rank 22 of 52
2019–2023
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0).
Did you know
Cairo International is one of Africa's busiest airports.
Typical bottlenecks in Egypt
- Expanding airport capacity for tourism peaks — Airports & ground operations · Regulation & certification
- Growing third-party maintenance for regional fleets — Airworthiness & CAMO · Quality, safety & compliance
- Turning around or restructuring an airline business — Airline strategy & business plans
Sources
- https://egyptian-gazette.com/skyward/egypts-airports-achieve-record-breaking-growth-in-2025/
- https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airlines-lessors/egyptair-sets-new-target-125-strong-fleet-2030
- https://asianaviation.com/posts/egyptair-takes-delivery-of-first-boeing-737-max
- https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/construction/egypt-to-build-terminal-4-at-cairo-airport-and-tender-hurghada-management-to-private-sector-lndyc3a1
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