History of Egyptair

  • Back in May 1932, EgyptAir was established under the Misr Airwork name, becoming the seventh carrier in the world, commencing operations from Cairo to Alexandria one year later.
  • In 1935, 12 De Havilland aircraft were added to the fleet, but during the Second World War, the Egyptian Government took over the airline and changed its name to Misr Airlines.
  • In 1946, 10 Beach crafts were purchased and the name was changed again to MisrAir.
  • Three years later, MisrAir bought 10 Vickers Vikings and then started using service a French Aircraft, the Languedoc (in 1950).
  • In 1956, MisrAir merges with Syrian Airlines, forming a new identity called “United Arab Airlines-UAA”.
  • In 1960, with the introduction of the Comet 4-C, UAA becomes the first Carrier in the Middle East to use jets.
  • In 1968, Boeing 707-320Cs join the fleet for operating on longer routes.
  • One year later, UAA becomes the first airline in the Middle East to fly the Boeing 707.
  • MisrAir and Syrian Airlines split resulting in a new identity “EGYPTAIR.”
  • In July 2002, EgyptAir becomes a Holding Company with seven subsidiaries by Presidential Decree.
  • In mid-July, 2008, EgyptAir joins the Star Alliance network.
  • During the 2009 Paris Airshow, EgyptAir announced a new venture with US lessor Aviation Capital Group (ACG) and other Egyptian private and public shareholders with the goal to establish a leasing joint venture focusing on the Middle East and Northern Africa region.
  • In 2009, Egyptair started operating a new frequency to Heathrow Airport, every Friday, which led to an increase of 15 flights a week from London.
  • In 2011, adopting an expansion strategy that aims at linking the world together using a modern fleet through the Cairo Hub, Egyptair started operating non-stop flights to Guangzhou, a new international service to Abha, daily non-stop flights to Alexandria, and a new frequency to Juba, in Southern Sudan. The airline also increased its frequencies to Johannesburg and Beijing.
  • At the beginning of November 2011, Egyptair restored operation to Libya, operating 4 weekly non-stop flights to Benghazi. In mid-November, daily non-stop flights between Cairo and Tripoli started, Egyptair being one of the first airlines operating to the Libyan capital.
  • In 2012, Egyptair welcomed the newest Boeing 737-800 to its fleet which consists of 80 modern aircraft. Onboard the delivery flight from Seattle was humanitarian shipment sent by the Egyptian-American Scientists and Engineers Association. With the arrival of this aircraft, Egyptair has 19 Boeing 737-800 each providing 160 seats with many electronic and entertainment facilities for the passengers. The Boeing 737-800 is a medium-range aircraft operating on the African, Middle Eastern and European routes.
  • On the 7th of May, 2013, Egyptair celebrated its 81st anniversary (1932 – 2013). For this occasion, Egyptair offered its valued customers a numerous awards and discount on their ticket prices. Within the celebration of this occasion, Egyptair launched a contest “Memories in Egypt” where clients could post their photos in tourist area in Egypt to the official Facebook page of Egyptair and invite friends and relatives to vote for it.
  • In November 2013, Egyptair won “Best Airline of the Year for Africa” in KLIA Awards, an annual event organized by Malaysia Airports Holdings. The organizers have asserted that the Award recognizes Egyptair for its achievements in the absolute growth of passenger movement by an airline from Africa.
  • In June 2014, Egyptair was the official carrier of the Pharaohs Rally 2014. In the light of its care to sponsor the important sports events, Egyptair sponsored the Pharaohs Rally 2014 held in the Egyptian coastal City of Gouna under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and in cooperation with the Automobile & Touring Club of Egypt.
  • Since September 2014, Egyptair joined the rest of Star Alliance member airlines and moved its operations to the airport’s new Terminal 2, The Queen’s Terminal. Customers using London’s Heathrow Airport now enjoy improved services and amenities.
  • In 2015, Egyptair became the first airline in Africa to be granted the green light for the application of the Fast Travel Program. Accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the program aims at offering self-service options that give passengers more control over their journey. IATA’s decision is a proof of Egyptair’s commitment in implementing the most up-to-date services in travel and air transport field. The airline met the main condition for getting the “green” status, 20% of its passengers using self- services, and covered four of the six areas of the program (passenger check-in through the internet, smart phones or self-service kiosks, document check, bags ready-to-go, document scanning, and self- boarding).
  • In July 2016, as part of a major fleet modernization plan, Egyptair placed an order for 9 Boeing B737-800. By the end of 2017, all nine aircraft were added to the 20 Boeing B737-800s already operated by Egyptair.
  • In October 2017, Egyptair’s board has approved the acquisition of six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners along with an unspecified number of A320NEOs. At the 2017 Dubai Airshow, it was announced that Egyptair and AerCap reached an agreement for the lease of the 6 Boeing B787-9 and 15 Airbus A320neo aircraft.
  • In June 2017, due to the 2017-18 Qatar Diplomatic crisis and as per the instructions from the Egypt Government, Egyptair has suspended flights to Doha in Qatar.
  • EgyptAir is a founding member of Arabesk Airline Alliance and the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
  • Since the ’90, Egyptair aircraft were involved in four deadly accidents and one hijacking without casualties. The last deadly accident occurred in May 2016, when, due to a still unknown cause, an EgyptAir Airbus A320 232 aircraft, en route from Paris to Cairo, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing all 66 on board.