Upon arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport I was greeted by a scrum of passengers (mostly pilgrims) making their way to a checkin desk. A big group of passengers with excessive amounts of bags created a bottleneck, but a member of the Saudia staff noticed I was traveling alone with one bag and quickly processed me. Nearly every passenger was purchasing a case of Zam Zam water to take home.
Quickly I got through immigration and suffered the next hour in an airport that makes a US airport seem luxurious. Jeddah is building a new terminal, but currently they have a large waiting room with nasty ceilings, limited dilapidated seating and one paltry eating option.
Saudia
Hajj terminal
I would never transit JED without a visa or access to a lounge
Eventually, boarding was called and everyone mobbed the gate only to take an escalator downstairs for a bus ride. At the bottom of the escalator a room should have held 30 people, but they tried to fill it with an entire plane load. Other passengers didn’t think it was problematic to stand at the base of the escalator while others had to avoid being trampled on the escalator.
We finally boarded (Jeddah doesn’t have any actual jet bridges and all gates are remote) and relaxed comfortably for the two hour flight to Cairo. Following a prayer we pushed back and quickly took off. I didn’t have high expectations for Saudia, but they certainly were slightly better than average. Friendly enough staff, nice clean plane with IFE, leg rest and an acceptable economy meal.
Interesting stair placement
Fish
Plenty of content, but limited in its relevance
We landed on time at T2 in Cairo and it was nice to see the new terminal building. Very clean and comfortable. Bags took forever (understandable given every passenger had a box of Zam Zam) and while I waited I got to enjoy the relentless offer for taxis or any other help worthy of baksheesh.
As I exited the arrivals hall to walk to the Le Meridien Cairo Airport a kind Egyptian offered me a ride for $10 to the hotel two minutes walk away. We both laughed at the stupidity of his offer and I continued on my way. I was feeling pretty awful at this point and the hotel staff was rather unwelcoming. She asked how I wanted to pay for my prepaid stay and I had to correct her.
I promptly fell asleep and felt a bit better in the morning. To checkout there was a line ten deep. I was really frustrated and just set the key down and walked out. I’m not sure I would stay at this property again given an Uber to much cheaper (and arguably nicer) hotels in Heliopolis is so easy.
Le Meridien Cairo Airport