Review: Cairo Airport VIP Lounge

The Terminal 1 lounge looks actually quite good compared to the so-called "First Class Lounge" in Terminal 3, which is the Star Alliance and Priority Pass one.

Had a similar fridge of soda, although ours was broken, and only a choice of a couple of sandwiches and some birthday cake!

I used Cairo airport earlier in March this year after spent 2 months living in Egypt so, there isn't many surprises in what I saw, however, impress me WHY they don't allow passengers to make online check-in, instead, they check your name in a huge printed spreadsheet.

But I have to said, Terminal 1 was better than my expectations, since I am from Brazil and only now Sao Paulo Guarulhos has a decent airport.

But about the arrival sector, is better not even start...

PS: I flew with Air France.

Do you mind labeling which was the American, Italian, English and Egyptian lounge? The outdoor lounge was the Italian one, but I can't seem to name the others.

Additionally, the 5th picture is the arrivals board, not the departures board. (The departures board wouldn't have the belt, and QR 1303 is DOH - CAI and not CAI - DOH.)

I live in Cairo and, having tried all 4 lounges in T3 and the "lounge complex" of T1, I can tell you that the difference is quite drastic.
I hate T1 in general and, being the Star Alliance guy I am, always prefer T3. T3 lounges look the same as most Star Alliance lounges all over the world. If you think your experience with this lounge was bad, you should rethink when I tell you about how I entered this particular lounge at 3am and found out that I was stuck with no wi-fi, no food (except for 2 croissants) and exactly 4 bottles of water in that fridge. When they ran out of water, I asked the lounge attendant for one and she actually went to Starbucks and bought me one. If you find yourself in CAI again, make sure to take the people-mover to T3 and try the Al-Gienah Lounge (it's awesome)
As for taking pics in the airport, it is completely safe and acceptable to do so, I even sometimes take pics of the tarmac using my DSLR and face absolutely no problems (although I have gone through trouble when I went spotting behind RWY05C)

@ Alvin -- Sharp eye! And as far as the lounges go, I really have no clue which area is supposed to be which theme.

Flew EgyptAir between JNB and ATH in 2002 and got stuck in the CAI airport for about 8 hours. I knew quite a bit less about airports then than I do now, but I am pretty sure there was only one terminal and departures area and it was small and dark and smelled heavily like perfume. Coming back from LHR to JNB through CAI they let us off the plane but did not let us in the airport and just kept us in a glass cage and provided horrid (WET!!!) sandwiches while we waited the 2/3 hours for the next flight to depart. I've avoided it at all cost since then but it is interesting to see changes compared to my unpleasant memories of CAI airport.

@lucky you would be surprised a lot of countries have immigration when you leave as you had there and I guess they are double checking to make sure no one who came in illegally got to slip through...somehow

Oh man, I lived in Egypt for about a year more than 10 years ago, and man do some of these pictures make me laugh out loud. Especially the pictures of the random furniture. That is a classic. Two revolutions since I've last been there and it looks like not much has changed at all! Oh, and that less-than-appetizing looking food is called "ful." It's the Egyptian national dish!

1 or 2 Croissant? Look at Turkish IST Lounge. People pile up food on their plates and many do not consume all the way as if they were at a free buffet restaurant. Worse yet, they also leave their plates on other peoples tables. My 2 cents.

My experience at CAI was not the best either although it was 6 year ago. It seems that they haven't changed much.

One of your more interesting - and intriguing - reports Lucky. The lounge certainly is... fascinating.

Does anyone know which other airports permit only travelling passengers entry and will screen you at the terminal entrance? Is this done for extra security? I suppose such airports are no longer technically public spaces.

Delta flies to Egypt?

@ Navin -- They used to, though I think they discontinued the flight in the meantime.

Ok thanks

Ahh, that brings back memories from a trip to Egypt last year. I remember the microwave and carpet well..

It is a shame you didn't get to see EgyptAir's domestic business class lounge at Cairo airport! It was about 6 metres x 3 metres, jammed with chairs, incredibly weak wi-fi and some soggy sandwiches... Was a blast!

That food is full, an Egyptian delicacy. Curious that you visit a country and haven't experienced a staple dish.

I have been to Egypt on several occasions and I have to say that Cairo Airport looks first class when compared to Sharm El Sheikh Airport which is a complete shambles, it always makes me laugh how often they check your passport in Egyptian Airports.

I was based in CAI for many years and your report brought back good memories (that's not sarcasm -- Egypt is a lovely place to live, current situation notwithstanding!).

As some commenters already noted, the lounges in Terminal 3 are much nicer (the entire terminal is more modern) and generally conform to *A standards, at least in terms of decor. They are "dry," of course, so that's one difference, but all of CAI airport is dry. The country itself is not, of course, and alcohol can be had at most hotels and some restaurants and there are even liquor stores in the cities (mostly beer -- hard liquor is generally only sold in duty free stores).

Terminal 2 (which used to house everyone prior to T3 opening) is now being renovated (I think it's in one of your pictures) and will also be the same modern design as T3. I think that eventually this T1 will either close or be used for domestic flights -- not sure.

As for that brown mush that looks like vomit, it is clearly a very poor rendition of a national dish called "ful" (pronounced more like "fool") that's had mostly at breakfast (as this was an early time of day). It is boiled fava beans and should look better when the proper spices and condiments are added to it. It actually tastes quite good, though it's heavy. No different than having beans for breakfast at a Mexican or Tex-Mex place, though. Ful goes hand-in-hand with falafel in Egypt.

One last thing: there actually is a Business/First check-in area, but the entrance is on the other side of the terminal. Not generally worth it unless there are huge lines where you were.

@ Lucky -- by now, are you used to the fact that no matter what location/airline you write about, there are a ton of readers who live(d) or work(ed) there? Egypt isn't all that surprising, I suppose, but I was rather intrigued that when you wrote about Air Koryo awhile back, so many people chimed in with personal experiences of flying to/from North Korea.

You brought back very unpleasant memory. Stuck in transit lounge 8 hours JNB/CDG
Air conditioning numbingly cold
Tried to hole up in empty Vip room
thrown out by vicious manager
The Egypt Air staff only slightly less miserable
So fool me once your fault
I will not visit Egypt even to change planes
As for the up close and personal I tell them I have a severe psoriasis and my Dr says people should avoid contact

The whole country of Egypt is a dump. Why should the airport be any different? I'll never set foot in that Sh*tH*le again. The corruption, stupidity, yelling, pushing, shoving, screaming, harassment, theft and stench are enough to cause someone to think they may be better off just Burning It All.

I've lived in Egypt for a while and tried one of the lounges at T3 and it was certainly nothing to write home about . Just to correct an above comment .The lounges are indeed dry but the airport isn't and alcohol can be bought at bars,restaurants and kiosks in Terminal 3

I had a twelve hour stopover in Cairo during the riots in 2013. When I booked the trip (it was multi-city) I saw the long gap as an opportunity to see a few sights, but the riots left me waiting in Terminal 3 the entire time. The airport was mostly empty, there were only a few touts offering tours that were not too difficult to avoid. I am used to travel in the Middle East, but this airport as a single woman was just creepy. Women were uncomfortable in the smoking lounge, so they were smoking in the toilets and while I didn't like that when I was the smoking lounge window, I understood.

The lounge would not allow me in until six hours before the flight, even though it was completely empty and I explained the the current situation I was rudely refused. When I finally got in, these pictures make the business lounge of Egypt Air look luxurious. There was one tray of bread, some bottles of juice and sandwiches that looked like they were there since the Old Kingdom. Wifi was acceptable, but there was a maximum of four people in the lounge. Also, Egypt Air is dry, so there is no alcohol on the plane or the lounge but there is a bar in the terminal with the friendliest (meaning passable) service.

Doha, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are all much better choices to transit, this airport, lounge and service is so awful it's not even close. Never again!

Ah, memories of Cairo Airport 'First Class and Business Lounge'. It is terrible. The airport itself is not the worst I have even been in. It's an experience if you are not used to Egypt. The food is stale. Bread looks like it has been left out for days and feels like it. I normally bring a breakfast box from the hotel and simply have a cup of tea and a fresh croissant. I make tea myself as staff seem incapable of doing that basic task. The food is stone cold. From scrambled eggs to the traditional Egyptian breakfast dish - ful - all cold. Hence the need for the microwave. British airways haven't flown First Class into Cairo for years now. I'd not waste money on first class on this flight due to the lounge and length of journey to London. Out of Egypt, I choose Club World. Good news is that the grotty old British Airways planes flying out of Egypt are being replaced with a Boeing 787s (No first class on this version anyway). This has to be better than the last Club World experience I had with BA - Cairo to London. They had the nerve to serve flat champagne, warm, previously opened. The food was dreadful. Snack range a joke and champagne on a bucket on the floor. Lovely. BA is inconsistent and careless too often.

@lucky - you haven't had to depart from Saudi as of yet; an immigration officer checks your exit stamp just before you get on the bus. I would be willing to bet you that this process in Saudi comes from Egypt since a lot of the processes currently in place in Saudi - whether the Saudis admit it or not - have come from Egypt from back in the 50s-60s when Egypt was, believe it or not, very civilized and they were sending teachers by the hundreds to educated the gulf countries.