Most of the countries in the world, including Egypt, were forced to suspended the air traffic due to the coronavirus crisis.
When will Egypt resume the flights? The government of Egypt announced on the 11th of June 2020 that Egypt flights start to operate and tourists are allowed to travel to the least infected areas from the first of July.
Continue to read the latest news and updates (updated 24/08/2020).
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Egypt has started to receive international flights from 1st of July. At the moment most of the flights are going to Cairo (non-tourist). Also, Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh have received tourist flights from Switzerland and Ukraine.
Read more:
Around 50,000 tourists visited Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada since 1 July: Tourism minister
Egypt operates 171 flights, reopens 5 museums and 8 archaeological sites
This article is updated (last update 24th of August), in case there comes any new information about resuming flights to Egypt.
Egypt entry requirements considering COVID-19
From the 1st of September, all the passengers arriving in Egypt must have a negative PCR-test certificate. This rule considers also Egyptian citizens. The rule doesn’t consider children under 6-years old.
Egypt government announced on Tuesday 5th of August that it will require negative COVID-19 test from the travellers who arrive in Egypt. The new rules will be valid from 15th of August (excluding tourists arriving direct or transit flight to Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, Marsa Alam or Marsa Matrouh Airports).
The test must be taken 72 hours before arriving in Egypt. The rule doesn’t apply to Arab and foreign tourists who arrive by direct or transit flight to the airports of Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, and Marsa Matrouh. More information from the article of Egypt today.
Related articles: Coronavirus COVID-19 in Egypt | How Egypt is planning to ensure the safety of the tourists?
When will Egypt open its airports for international flights?
Many people want to know when will Egypt resume the flights. Egypt’s cabinet announced on 11th of June that it will resume flights to the least infected governorates from the beginning of July. These governorates are South Sinai, the Red Sea and Marsa Matrouh.
Also, all the airport in Egypt will start to operate from 1st of July, but as said international tourist flights will be operated first to these three destinations.
More information in English: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/372133/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-to-gradually-resume-international-flights-at.aspx
More information: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/371950/Egypt/Politics-/BREAKING-Egypt-resumes-flights,-tourism-in-the-lea.aspx
Nader Saad The spokesman of cabinet said on 31st of May that Egypt is considering to resume international flights gradually in 2nd half of June or 1st half of July. As I understood from this statement that nothing is sure and when the flights resume they will resume gradually.
More information from this article: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/370192/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-considers-gradual-resumption-of-intl-flights.aspx
Next: Will there be flights Egypt in the near future?
Will there be flights to Egypt this year?
Like said, Egypt is planning to resume the flights in July. But even though Egypt opens its airports for International flights, there won’t necessarily be many flights to Egypt. At least not in the near future. Many countries are still closed, banned travelling or recommend citizens not to travel abroad.
Also, many countries have suspended international flights at least until the end of the summer. We’ll see later if these restrictions will continue or not.
It has been predicted, that the crisis will last long and some countries haven’t even seen the peak yet. The disease is in the different stages in different countries, so it’s impossible to tell when we are able to fly and where.
Are we allowed to travel between certain countries, where the virus is in control? Or do we have to wait until the coronavirus has totally gone? Will we eventually get a vaccine against it or do we have to learn live with the virus? No-one knows.
But one the other hand, the aircraft companies are suffering because of the crisis very much. This is why we need to find a new solution for air travelling.
Who knows which companies will survive from this crisis. The crisis has hit hard on all the airline companies over the world, and the pressure for opening the routes is massive. The longer this continues, the more companies will get bankrupted.
Most of the airline companies and countries have suspended the flights for now. Also, the travel agencies have cancelled the trips until the fall of 2020.
Even though some airline companies are still selling the flights, they don’t know if and when the flights will be operated.
Next: When will Egypt resume the flights?
When will Egypt resume the flights?
It’s obvious that these restrictions can’t be held forever. Many countries have started to weaken the measures taken against COVID-19. The restrictions are removed little by little, step by step. But when will the flights resume?
My personal opinion is that the countries will remove the restrictions inside the countries first, and the last thing they do is to open for tourism. But actually, some of the countries have announced that they will open the country fo tourists in the summer, including Greece and Italy.
When can we travel to Egypt?
When can travel to Egypt and internationally again? My guess is that it will take time until we are free to make international travels again. Probably not in the near future. As long as Coronavirus spreads and is not in total control, travelling abroad is harder than earlier.
What is for sure that the world after the coronavirus will be different from all the aspects, including travelling.
In general, I believe, that when the international air traffic is resuming, in the beginning, people are not allowed to fly abroad without a valid reason.
If you own an apartment in Egypt or have Egyptian nationality, it’s most likely a good reason to travel, but probably there will be a quarantine in both ends, in Egypt and in your own country.
Since all the countries are trying to control the spread of Coronavirus, it is unlikely that people are allowed to travel abroad while the virus is still active. If travelling will be allowed, there must be some restrictions, quarantines or similar.
Maybe there will be coronavirus tests running at the airports or something like that. But for sure, travelling won’t be as easy as it has been before.
When concerning these points, my guess is that it will long until we are allowed to travel internationally, especially without a valid reason. In the beginning, the countries will be opened from inside and the last thing is to open the borders for foreigners and tourists.
Next: When will the hotels in Egypt be open?
Are the hotels open in Egypt?
Egypt is opening the hotels little by little for domestic tourism. The tourism sector in Egypt is suffering from the situation and the losses are said to be millions or even billions of Egyptian pounds.
More information about opening the hotels in Egypt from this article: How Egypt is planning to ensure the safety of the tourists in the future?
For keeping tourism alive, the hotels in Egypt are allowed to open their doors with certain conditions. The Federation of Chambers of Commerce, in cooperation with the Chamber of Hotel Establishments, has set up seven pillars program to ensure the safety in the hotels.
Read more about the pillars: :https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/9/85180/7-pillars-set-for-safe-operation-of-hotels-in-case
Next: When Coronavirus restrictions end in Egypt?
When do coronavirus restrictions end in Egypt?
The current coronavirus restrictions in Egypt are going to last at least until the second week of June. We don’t know yet, where the situation is going and what is it after a few weeks. When will Egypt resume the flights? No-one can tell that.
Read here more about the current situation in Egypt: Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Egypt
As I have understood, many countries have started to weaken their restrictions, as soon as it has been possible. Restrictions are very bad for the economy and countries can’t keep restrictions on forever unless it’s not a necessity.
But like said earlier, all the countries have their own rules. Still, it seems that everyone is trying to control the spread of the virus, in a way or other.
Even though the coronavirus cases have been increasing in Egypt, the government has set up a plan for go-exiting from COVID-19.
Note that the plan doesn’t say anything about resuming flights to Egypt. More details about the plan below.
Egypt’s plan for go-exiting from coronavirus restrictions
The government of Egypt has announced the plan to go-exit from coronavirus restrictions. The plan has six pillars and three stages. Here are the main points of the plan:
The main pillars of the plan:
- Basic requirements for the work of the various establishments, bodies and means of transportation
- Social distancing
- Reducing contention
- Supporting the elderly and those with Chronic Conditions
- Spreading the culture of wearing face masks
- Encouraging attention to public health status and smart activities to avoid gatherings avoid relapses
The stages
The first stage: The first stage is a strict stage which should avoid replacing of the virus. In the first stage, the restrictions are strict: Face mask is obligatory when leaving home. The temperature will be taken outside of some buildings and public transport. The hand sanitizers must be installed to the entrances of malls, businesses and shops. Also, all the recreational facilities such as restaurants, schools, cinemas and gyms will remain closed. And the public gatherings are still suspended.
The Second stage: The second stage starts 14-days after the first stage and it should last 28 days after the first stage. In the second stage, all the recreational facilities remain closed, but the shops and other facilities are allowed to open for medium capacity. Also, hand sanitizers must be installed at workplaces. If the number of coronavirus cases will start to rise again, then it’s possible to go back to stage one.
The third stage: In the third stage restaurants and other facilities can open the door in case they abide the safety requirements. Wearing face masks will still be obligatory, but it can be lifted in certain circumstances. Also, crowding must be avoided and a good ventilation system required.
I hope that things will be back normal soon and we can start to live our lives normally. Meanwhile, stay strong, we are in this together!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR INSIGHT.I WAS HOPE TO RETURN TO EGYPT BY YEAR’S END TO LIVE, I AM A BLACK AMERICAN HOPING TO CHOOSE MY OWN HOME BEFORE I DIE.
Thank you for the nice comment. I sincerely hope that you can travel to Egypt when planned. Egypt is a good place to live in.
Ik heb een vlucht geboekt bij Tuifly naar het zuiden van Egypte om samen met een groep vrienden een boottocht te maken op de rode zee wat plaats zal hebben in September ! zou tegen die tijd Egypte al toegankelijk zijn?
Hopelijk. Ik denk dat het allemaal afhangt van hoe de situatie van het Egyptische coronavirus vordert. Laten we het beste hopen!