bizaro86

Hello,

I'm currently booking flights for an upcoming vacation, and I need to go from Istanbul to Luxor. From a timing perspective, the best flight for us is in the afternoon, and has a 1 hour connection in Cairo. Is this adequate?

Normally I'd go for something a bit longer in an airport I haven't been to, but other choice either have a 4 hour layover, or have me arriving in the middle of the night.

I'll be flying on or around April 6th, if that makes any difference.

Sorry if I missed another thread, search only came up with info from before the new T3 opened. I assume both of these flights would go to T3 in CAI?

Thanks for any advice,

Michael

bizaro86

BUMP!

Anyone know what a reasonable connection time would be on Egyptair in Cairo?

Alternatively, how good are they about protecting missed connections on their next flight? Would someone who only speaks English be able to accomplish that?

Thanks for any help/advice!

Michael

YVR Cockroach

Well, you'll probably need to clear immigration in CAI instead of at LXR. Helps if you have an Egyptian visa before hand otherwise you'll have to scrum to get a visa stamp at the money exchange desks. Could be done but I'll say it's risky.

nstick13

Not only is it likely that you'd have to clear customs in Cairo, it would be the easiest. You'll find a higher percentage of people who speak English in Cairo as apposed to Luxor.

That having been said, getting through the Cairo airport in general is not always a great experience. The word "scrum" is quite accurate, and not just for buying the visas (which really isn't that bad--I've done it both ways). Visas are 15 USD.

And, both time I've flown into Cairo I deplaned onto a shuttle bus that took us to the airport, just as an FYI.

I don't think 1 hour would be enough, and the 4 hour layover would leave you probably with around 2 hours when it's all said and done (assuming you clear customs/passport control in Cairo).

Did you call EgyptAir about this?

travelmad478

One hour is not enough time. The visa process takes about 10-20 minutes depending on how many people are waiting in line (remember, you have to buy the visa stamp first and then wait in another line to go through immigration). Your flight may also require a change of terminal--it seems like every time I go through Cairo, my domestic flight leaves from a different place than the time before. This is not a quick process--one of the domestic terminals is a 10-minute taxi ride away, and if you are stuck taking the airport shuttle, you can wait quite a while for it to show up.

I also find CAI one of the most confusing and least user-friendly airports I have ever been to (and that is saying a lot, considering the places in the world that I travel). There is very little signage that is of any use and almost no information on terminal locations or which flights leave from which terminal. Getting between terminals is very tricky.

I build at least 2 hours into every CAI transfer.

beachfan

How about 1.5 hours for a transfer from Luxor to Amman via Cairo from Egypt Air to Royal Jordanian at around 8am?

Also, is counting for a reasonably on time flight from Luxor to Cairo a reasonable bet or a pipe dream?

onedog

I would recommend giving yourself a lot more time to transit in CAI.

Last summer my family and I were traveling from Luxor to Sharm El Sheikh via Cairo (we would have preferred the non-stop but the flight time didn't work with our itinerary) on EgyptAir. Let's just say the connection experience left much to be desired.

When we landed in Cairo we deplaned and then had to take a shutle bus to the terminal. We were dropped off at one terminal (IIRC, T2), found on the monitor that our CAI-Sharm flight was departing out of another terminal, had to run through the terminal (think OJ back in his Hertz days), hop onto an intra-terminal shuttle but (we had to wait for the driver to wake up from his nap), take the shuttle through the airport traffic to another terminal (IIRC, T4). When we approached security at our gate, the security lackey looked at our boarding passes and told us that we were too late to make our flight and we would have to wait for the next flight. I think a supervisor of some sort heard the commotion and could see the look of disgust and frustration on our faces as we complained and explained the journey through the airport we just made, so that h3came over to figure out what was going on (we were the only ones at the gate and there were a good 6+ security lackeys standing around chatting). I am not sure what was said, but the end result was that the supervisor told the underling to hurry up and clear us through and put us onto the shuttle bus. We hopped onto the shuttle bus (which proceeded to sit there for what seemed to be hours even though there was no one else in the gate area) and were again driven around the whole airport only to be brought to our awaiting plane. End result, yup, you guessed it, it was the same plane that we had just used to fly from Luxor to Cairo! ARGH!!!!

Better safe than sorry. Give yourself some time.

Onedog

pinniped

There seem to be a lot of LXR-CAI morning flights - in my experience (2 different days at LXR - once actually on a CAI flight and once going to ASW), they all operated normally.

We got lucky on our connection through CAI: we did not have to change terminals. There were no lines to speak of: it was kind of odd as I was expecting a total zoo. We bought the visa from a bored moneychanger and walked about 30 seconds to hand it (along with passports) to a bored immigration guy. We could have made a 30 minute connection if we had to, so we ended up sitting in the tiny little EgyptAir lounge for an hour and then wandering the mostly empty airport.

But...from what I gather, there's no way to actually predict that you won't have to change terminals. We allowed 2 hours and got lucky. I never would have booked myself a 1 hour connection unless I knew that flight 3 hours later was nowhere near sold out. And without knowing MS very well, I wouldn't gamble.

To add to onedog's observation, we were surprised at how many "security" people were standing around at airport gates in Egypt doing nothing. There were always 4-5 people - whether MS employees or airport employees I couldn't always tell - hanging around the gate prior to departure, even on small internal flights. They did not appear to perform any active duties, whether related to security or otherwise. They just seemed to chat a lot and meander in and out of the exterior doors to the gate area.

TrojanTraveler

Has anyone used any of the meet and greet/VIP services that CAI airport lists on their website? I'll be flying SSM-CAI on MS, then CAI-JFK on DL, which I think leaves from T1 or 2.

beachfan

Good advice, and now I'm worried.

The first morning flight from Luxor arrives at 8:05 am. My Royal Jordanian flight from Cairo to Amman leaves at 10am.

I assume I have to both change terminals and collect my bags rather than risk an interline baggage transfer.

Would you advice overnighting in Cairo if I want to take the 10am RJ flight?

My end destination that day is Petra, and I'm going overland between Amman and Petra. The next RJ flight that day leaves at 2:30 pm and arrives at 4:45 pm, which I thought would be a little late to begin the drive to Petra. (This is all on Oct 5 if it matters).

Thanks in advance!

travelmad478

Wirelessly posted (Palm Treo 650: BlackBerry9630/4.7.1.40 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Beachfan, I think in your case I'd stick with the 1:55 transfer. Getting your bag from the LXR-CAI flight should not take long, and you don't have to deal with a visa. Be very observant when you transit CAI on your way to LXR, and you should be OK. Worst case, you can still drive from Amman to Petra in the late afternoon.

beachfan

Thanks! As long as RJ would honor my ticket on the next flight, it's a low cost backup.

etch5895

My own (several days ago) experiences:

1. Land in Cairo, disembark aircraft
2. Get to immigration area. Immediately get in line at one of the currency exchange / visa booths. Get visa for $15 US.
3. Get in the immigration line. Watch at least 2 of the 8 people ahead of me get sent away because they didn't buy a visa yet.
4. Immigration consists of 2 people. 1 affixes the visa to my passport (on a page already full of stamps, with several open pages further back ). Second person stamps the entry. No questions asked.
5. Proceed to the escalator and show passport to bored looking armed policeman.
6. Get luggage from carosel, proceed to customs.
7. Is there such a thing as an orderly line? Watch two people in front of me get selected for bag search, I get waved through.
8. Proceed upstairs and follow signs for domestic flights.
9. Put all bags on security x-ray. Go through.
10. Check bag and collect boarding pass. Head towards gate.

Took all of about 30 minutes, but this was connecting from LH to Egyptair, so no terminal change was involved. The airport did not appear to be very busy when I got there.

bizaro86

Hello,

I've booked the flight with the 4 hour layover. With the minimal amount of time we have in Luxor, an overnight delay in Cairo would make our Luxor visit in vain, and we're not likely to be back anytime soon. I'll report back with information on whether I could have made the 1 hour connection.

Thanks all,

Michael

Mr H

I visited Egypt about two years ago and we put the stickers in our passports ourselves on pages of our choice. Is this no longer allowed?