Founded in 1932 and voted Best African Airline in 2025, EGYPTAIR is one of the world’s longest-operating airlines and a key player in connections between Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. In a context of transformation in global air traffic flows, Egypt’s national carrier is strengthening its strategic positioning through network development, fleet renewal, and the quality of the travel experience.
How does EGYPTAIR’s history continue to shape its vision and strategic choices today, and what responsibility comes with representing a country and a civilisation of such profound historical and cultural depth through the symbol of Horus, used as the airline’s logo?
EGYPTAIR, Egypt’s flag carrier, has been operating in Italy for more than 60 years, connecting Rome (Fiumicino) and Milan (Malpensa) with Cairo through 30 weekly flights. Its presence on the peninsula has helped make Egypt and its wonders familiar to millions of Italians.
The EGYPTAIR logo features the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian amulet symbolizing protection, health, and regeneration, born from the myth of the loss and recovery of the falcon god’s eye. EGYPTAIR respects its strong cultural identity while looking to the future by providing competitive assistance services in the true Egyptian spirit. This tradition is reflected in the company’s positioning, values, and way of operating worldwide, strengthening EGYPTAIR’s role both as a national ambassador and as a carrier with deep historical roots. EGYPTAIR’s philosophy is to continuously improve passenger services: the pursuit of operational excellence and the travel experience are top priorities, alongside safety.
What role do new routes play in the development of EGYPTAIR as an intercontinental connecting carrier?
With the continued development of Egypt’s tourism sector and international connectivity, EGYPTAIR is actively identifying destinations with growing demand. We currently operate flights to approximately 85 destinations worldwide. Our approach begins with the selection of high-yield routes and then expands into markets that show strong or emerging demand. The decision to open new destinations is driven exclusively by market demand.
With the arrival of the new Airbus A350-900, we plan to launch services from Cairo to the western United States, particularly Los Angeles and Chicago. For Los Angeles, our target is the second half of 2026. We are also evaluating additional frequencies and potential new routes in the Far East, carefully assessing their feasibility.
Fleet expansion directly supports network growth, ensuring the airline can meet increasing passenger demand while maintaining operational efficiency.
How does the fleet development plan support Egypt’s ambition as a hub between Africa, Europe, and Asia?
Tourism numbers have reached remarkable levels, and EGYPTAIR has launched one of the largest development plans in its history to meet this challenge. We expect the delivery of 24–26 new aircraft in 2026 and 2027, reaching a total of 34 new aircraft by 2030. We are also refurbishing and retrofitting the interiors of 19 narrow-body aircraft, adding two wide-body aircraft, and implementing major upgrades to our catering, ground handling, and maintenance services.
What transformation processes have strengthened EGYPTAIR’s trust, standards, and international reputation?
Governance, safety, and organizational culture have become structural elements of brand positioning for passengers and partners alike. These efforts include the modernization of internal governance frameworks, continuous investment in safety management systems, and the development of a performance-oriented organizational culture. Together, these elements demonstrate a
long-term commitment to transparency, reliability, and global best practices, key factors shaping the airline’s perception in international markets.
How does the evolution of services translate today into a more competitive and recognizable travel experience?
One of our objectives is to enhance the customer experience through digitalization and the integration of Artificial Intelligence, with particular attention to providing a smooth and seamless online booking journey. As tourism to Egypt increases, passenger expectations have risen. Within the next five years, we will deliver integrated and digitally advanced systems designed to make travel smooth and efficient. Through websites, mobile applications, and AI, processes will evolve organically over time. Rather than accelerating the introduction of new technologies, the airline is developing systems that grow naturally alongside its operations and passengers. This approach underscores that meaningful improvement is not about rapid or superficial updates, but about thoughtful planning and ensuring that every touchpoint of the passenger experience is effortless.
EGYPTAIR invites travelers to explore a nation where tradition and modernity meet, offering a unique perspective on one of the world’s most extraordinary civilizations. With the opening of the GEM – Grand Egyptian Museum, of which EGYPTAIR is an official partner, Egypt is experiencing a new moment of splendor. Many tourists arriving from around the world wish to admire the GEM’s collections and add a visit to the Giza site with the Pyramids of Khafre, Menkaure, and Khufu (among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and the Great Sphinx, a Nile cruise, or a desert tour.
As Egypt’s flag carrier, we offer a highly comfortable journey and are proud to enable an ever-growing number of travelers to discover Egyptian culture. Until the end of March 2026, the Special Weekend offer to Cairo is available, with EGYPTAIR flights from Milan and Rome starting from €170 round trip: an ideal promotion for cultural city breaks and Visiting Friends and Relatives travel, with full-service included.
EGYPTAIR’s choices outline a coherent strategy in which network, fleet, identity, and a system-level vision work together to build the conditions for a new cycle of opportunities for Egypt as a destination.
What clearly emerges is a shift in role: from national carrier to an enabling infrastructure for tourism development. The long-haul expansion, supported by the introduction of the Airbus A350-900 and the opening toward high-yield markets such as the U.S. West Coast, is not driven by symbolic presence but by a precise intention to position Cairo as a stable intercontinental hub between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. For the travel trade, this translates into programmable capacity, medium-term reliability, and stronger margins for product development.
At the same time, the explicitly demand-driven approach to route development signals strategic discipline. Not opportunistic expansion, but the selection of markets where demand is already mature or clearly emerging.
This is a crucial element for tour operators and agencies, as it reduces the risk of discontinuity and makes investments in product, pricing, and distribution more credible.
From an experience perspective, the progressive integration of digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence should be read as a structural alignment with international standards, rather than a technological chase.
This is a relevant message for the trade: systems that grow alongside operations and volumes enable smoother customer management, fewer operational frictions, and greater alignment with sales and post-sales processes.
Egypt is not simply intercepting demand, but is building the conditions for it to grow in a structured way. Aligning commercial, seasonal, and product planning with the trajectory of EGYPTAIR means anticipating a market that in 2026 promises stability, international visibility, and new opportunities for differentiation.
By Daniele Di Stefano
