Overview Of Sharm El Sheikh International Airport

Control tower at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport: The airport was opened on 14 May 1968 as an Israeli Air Force base. After the signing of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979 and subsequent Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, it was reopened as a civilian airport.

The largest regular aircraft using the airport was a Transaero Airlines-operated Boeing 747-400. These flights transiting from Moscow ended when Transaero ceased operations in October 2015.

British Airways operated the only regular scheduled Boeing 777-200ER service (from Gatwick Airport). However, this service (and others) has ceased due to concerns over the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 on 31 October 2015.

In 2008, the Egyptian Airports Holding Company (EAHC) announced plans to build a third new terminal at the airport. In July 2009 the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) signed a contract with Spanish construction designers Pointec for the third terminal. The terminal was planned to double the airport's capacity from 7.5 to 15 million passengers per year. The project's primary costs were estimated at $420 million. The design phase was due to be completed by early 2010. International contractors then were invited for an open tender to construct the terminal, which was scheduled to be completely constructed by 2015. By September 2016 construction had not commenced.

On October 31, 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268, en route from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed in the Sinai Peninsula between Nekhel and Housna, killing all 224 people on board, most of them Russian tourists. The jihadist group ISIL, at war with Russian forces in nearby Syria, quickly claimed responsibility for the crash, which was believed by western governments to be the result of a terrorist bombing. Russian investigators confirmed in mid-November that the flight was bombed; the investigation is still ongoing. Following these events, many countries ordered all flights to Sharm El Sheikh suspended until further notice.

In November 2015, passenger numbers significantly decreased due to the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 on 31 October 2015. This led to airlines cancelling flights from the airport and operating rescue flights for stranded passengers. Governments from Russia and European countries such as the United Kingdom banned airlines from operating to the airport, citing safety concerns that were highlighted following the crash. The Government of the United Kingdom, HM Government advised against all travel to and from Sharm El Sheikh.

In January 2018, it was announced that EgyptAir Express would open a base at the airport for its incoming fleet of Airbus A220s. This would increase the amount of destinations served by the airline at the airport with the possibility of operating to cities in Italy, Germany, Morocco and India non-stop.

On 22 October 2019 the UK lifted the flight ban on flights between UK airports and Sharm El Sheikh.

On 1 November 2019 TUI AG, parent company of TUI Airways and TUI UK announced a resumption of flights to the airport, starting in February 2020.

On 9 August 2021, Rossiya Airlines operated the first flight between Russia and Sharm El Sheikh for the first time in 5 years since the banning of the flights between the resort and Russia, due to the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268.

Accidents and incidents Of Sharm El Sheikh International Airport

On January 3, 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604, en route to Cairo and then Paris as its final destination, crashed in the Red Sea shortly after taking off from Sharm El Sheikh, killing all 148 people on board. Causes for the accident include pilot error and instrument failure, but investigators have been unable to reach a consensus.

On August 23, 2015, Thomson Airways Flight 476, approaching Sharm El Sheikh at the end of a flight from London Stansted Airport with 189 passengers aboard, took evasive action to avoid a missile traveling toward it; the missile missed the airliner by about 1,000 feet (300 meters), and the

plane landed safely. An investigation concluded that the missile was an Egyptian armed forces missile that had strayed from a military exercise.

The Sharm El-Sheikh international airport is considered to be the second (after Cairo) major airport in Egypt. The airport has approximately 10 million passenger traffic yearly. The airport is located in the heart of the resort area just near the Red Sea coast.

Airport Location

The airport is located in 18 kilometers (11 miles) northeast from the city of Sharm El Sheikh. The airport serves for the major recreation area of Egypt including dozens of hotels along the seaside.

Route Network

The Sharm El Sheikh airport dispatches regular flights to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, different cities of the Europe and the Middle East. However, the main air traffic consists of the season charter flights from the Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavian and Baltic countries, Russia and CIS countries. The infrastructure of the airport has been constantly improved in order to increase the passenger services quality.

passenger Services

The Sharm El Sheikh airport possesses two passenger terminals – Terminal 2 (the old one) and Terminal 1 (the new terminal). Terminal 1 has been put into action in 2007. Being rather comfortable and up-to-date it serves for the majority of flights. The passenger terminals are equipped with the parking area, public transport stations and taxi ranks.

More about getting to the airport

The developed infrastructure of the air terminals meets the demands of numerous incoming and outgoing passengers. Various restaurants and cafes, currency exchange offices, telephones and post-office, souvenir and essential commodities shops, cloakrooms and cars-for-rent offices are situated here.

More about passenger services

The third passenger terminal and the second runway deployment is planned in 2012.

Time Zone

Time zone in Sharm El Sheikh GMT + 2 (daylight saving time GMT + 3 from the last Friday in April to the last Thursday in September).