Cairo Airport: Is There A Worse Major Airport?

In the past I’ve written about my favorite airports in the world, though I don’t think I’ve ever shared my least favorite airport in the world, which has to be Cairo International Airport (CAI).

I’ve traveled through the airport more times than I can count, and I suppose it’s actually a love-hate relationship, because I keep going back for more. I’m curious if anyone disagrees, and has another major airport that they like less.

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Why Cairo Airport is absolutely awful

First let me explain why I travel through Cairo Airport so often. There are some airports that are known for having reasonably priced premium fares, and Cairo is perhaps the best of all. If you’re looking to travel in a premium cabin at a huge discount, originating in Cairo is the key.

But gosh does Cairo sure make you work for it, by having to tolerate the airport. It’s not that there’s just one thing wrong with the airport, but rather just about everything sucks about the airport, if you ask me.

Look, I’m pretty good at navigating and dealing with airports (I mean, you’d hope!), as it’s something I have a lot of experience with. Airports don’t really stress me out in the way that they stress many others out, because I try to come in with reasonable expectations.

But Cairo Airport is kind of special. Like, I know “the system” for using the airport, yet I feel like it never gets any less miserable. What makes Cairo Airport so bad? Below are some thoughts, in no particular order…

Cairo Airport staff are rude, unhelpful, and distracted

There’s a nuance to Egyptian culture, and I find many Egyptians to be quite friendly… just not the ones at Cairo Airport. I don’t know what it is, but I find that a vast majority of the security and police staff (who are all over the place) are actively hostile and rude. They yell like crazy, and if you don’t understand what they’re saying due to a language barrier, they just yell louder.

It’s not just that they aren’t friendly, but the level of bureaucracy is next level. There are constantly passport and security checks, yet it seems like no one there is actually paying any attention. They’re all either on the phone talking with someone, or they’re just talking to one another, and act like you’re an inconvenience for being there.

I also don’t understand the general incompetence. For example, when you enter the airport, you have to show your ticket, before going through the initial security check. I showed the security officer my ticket, and he must have looked at it for two minutes, as if he had never seen a ticket before. Huh?

There’s just not an airport that has ruder and more disinterested staff, in my opinion.

There are endless requests for tips

This is perhaps more reflective of what it’s like to be a tourist in Egypt, but it’s incredible how many people within the airport expect tips. There are those guys who place the bags on the security belt for you (even if you ask them not to), and then they say “you have tip?”

Yesterday I was in a Priority Pass lounge and went to the toilet, to use the urinal. The “bathroom attendant” followed me into the bathroom, closed the door behind him, stood maybe two feet behind me, and then waited for me to pee. He then handed me a paper towel and said “tip please?” Dude, I’ll tip you to get out of the bathroom.

There’s zero order among passengers

Traveling through Cairo Airport requires spending a lot of time queuing. How do I put this politely, but… Egyptians aren’t good at waiting in lines (and neither are people from several other countries that see a lot of flights to and from Cairo).

If you’re a nice guy, you’re going to end up waiting twice as long as you would have to if everyone just followed the rules.

The disorder continues during boarding. For example, while boarding my Ethiopian Airlines flight yesterday, I was first in line to board. As they started boarding, a guy walked right in front of me, put his foot at an angle in front of me so that I’d basically be tripped if I walked forward, and then tried to board first.

The gate agent very clearly said only business class was boarding, and he wasn’t in business class, so the gate agent told him to step back. He refused, and kept standing there, blocking the door.

Never mind how many passengers tried to poach business class seats, claiming they were told that they could sit there.

There’s nothing redeeming about the facilities

I wouldn’t rank Cairo Airport as the worst in the world purely based on the physical attributes, because there are lots of ugly airports. However, Cairo Airport is just awful in that regard as well, whether you’re flying out of EgyptAir’s Terminal 3, of the newer Terminal 2:

• The terminals are really run down, and even the newer terminal already has endless wear and tear
• The lounge situation is bad, including EgyptAir’s “flagship” lounges; maybe the Emirates and Saudia lounge are fine, but otherwise… yuck
• There’s a smoke smell throughout the airport
• If you’re at the airport at night and not in summer, it gets really cold, as I don’t think they use heat
• The retail and food and drink options in the terminal are much weaker than at many other airports

Bottom line

Cairo Airport is my least favorite major airport in the world. I’ve never had my travel through the airport be seamless, but rather my visits have varied from inconvenient and disorganized, to outright chaotic. I just can’t think of a single redeeming quality about the airport (well other than the low fares, and the Le Meridien Cairo Airport is also quite good).

It’s funny, because I’m writing this post from Addis Ababa Airport (ADD), and earlier I was telling some friends about how I’m here, and they mentioned how much they hate this airport. Like, no, this airport is like Singapore Changi compared to Cairo. At least the staff are mostly friendly, it doesn’t smell like smoke everywhere, the security staff are decent, and Ethiopian Airlines’ lounge isn’t half bad.

Anyone else dislike Cairo Airport as much as I do? Or does anyone want to nominate a worse major international airport for the title of the world’s worst?