Cairo International Airport (HECA/CAI)
Cairo, Egypt
Cairo Airline Crew Layover Guide
Reviewed by Captain AL
Crew car rental deal ↓Hotel deals ↓
The CAI crew card
| Fastest into town | The metro operator’s own network map shows no station at the airport, so every way into town is a road trip. The airport operator lists limousine services, prices fixed by destination and car category, pick-up at the curb side in front of the terminals. Nobody publishes a journey time or a fare. |
|---|---|
| First / last run | Cairo Metro runs 05:00 to midnight on regular days and 05:00 to 02:00 during Ramadan. Land later than that, or sign on before dawn, and you are on the road |
| Payments | Cairo Metro single tickets are banded by distance: EGP 10 for up to 9 stations, EGP 12 up to 16, EGP 15 up to 23, EGP 20 up to 39 stations |
| Tap water | Not safe to drink; the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs advises bottled water and describes it as cheap and readily available |
| Emergency | 122 (Cairo Airport has a Tourism Police presence in the baggage claim area and in the meeters area of the arrival hall next to the information desk) |
| Solo & at night | Official advice for women is not to travel alone where possible, and sexual harassment is reported as common on the street and in taxis. Alone with a male driver, the advice is specific: sit in the back seat behind him, and share the driver, the trip, and your live location with someone |
| Crew knows | Metro fares are banded by station count and the steps between bands are small: EGP 2, EGP 3, EGP 5. Ride past your band and the fine is EGP 50, ten times the biggest of those steps. So when in doubt, buy the EGP 20 top band. At 39 stations it still costs less than half the fine |
| Crew deals | Verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff: on this page, right below this guide. |
airlinecrewdiscount.net · CAI crew card · Checked Aug 2026 · Next check Nov 2026 · Screenshot this card for offline
Getting from Cairo Airport to the City Centre by limousine, metered white taxi, or bus
There is no metro station at Cairo International Airport. What the airport operator lists from the terminal side is limousine services, taxis, and buses, plus a free Automated People Mover between the terminals. Metro comes later, once you are already in town: Line 3 ends at Adly Mansour, which the metro operator describes as the transport complex where a BRT station connects with Cairo International Airport.
👉 Swipe sideways to see the full table
| Mode | Time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo Metro | 3 min at peak and 6 min off peak on Line 1 and Line 2; the operator publishes no interval for Line 3 | single tickets EGP 10 for up to 9 stations, EGP 12 up to 16, EGP 15 up to 23, EGP 20 up to 39 stations | Trains run 05:00 to midnight on regular days, and 05:00 to 02:00 during Ramadan. Line 3 ends at Adly Mansour, a transport complex that the operator says exchanges service between five modes, one of them a BRT station to connect with Cairo International Airport. One house rule from the operator: male passengers do not use the women’s cars. |
| Airport limousine service | prices are fixed depending on the destination and the car category | The airport operator calls this the most convenient way to leave on arrival, and puts the pick-up points at the curb side in front of the terminals. Category A is luxury limousines, category B is micro buses for up to seven passengers, category C is midsized cars, and category D is London taxis. What the airport site never publishes is a price list for any of them. | |
| Metered white taxi | metered | White taxis have meters, and most of them are new and air conditioned. The old black and white ones usually have no meter, so the price gets negotiated before you travel. The airport operator adds a warning of its own: tourists are often targeted by free taxi drivers in the arrival hall, and it points at the category C limousine price list as the upper limit for an acceptable fare. | |
| City bus and intercity coach | City buses cover all Cairo directions, and coaches run to the other governorates (West Delta, Upper Egypt, East Delta, and Super Jet), most of them air conditioned. They all leave from one place, the bus station in the parking area in front of Terminal 1. The airport site stops there: no routes, no fares, no departure times. | ||
| Automated People Mover (between terminals) | 5 min maximum end to end | free | Free train inside the airport, running Terminal 1, the Air Mall, the car park, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3 over a route of 1,857 meters. Transit passengers moving between terminals without clearing customs ride the air side; everyone else rides the land side. Two trains in service, three vehicles each. |
Best Areas for Crew Stays in Cairo, from Heliopolis at the airport fence to Giza on the pyramid side
Heliopolis: The airport’s own district, out along Oruba Road. Wide boulevards and hotel rows, and the shortest run back to the terminals when the clock is tight.
Downtown Cairo: Early twentieth century core, built around Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum, with the Sadat metro interchange running underneath it.
Zamalek: An island in the Nile, with quieter streets, embassies, and cafes. Opera is the closest metro station.
Coptic Cairo: Old Christian quarter around the Hanging Church, compact enough to walk, and Mar Girgis station puts you straight into it.
Giza: Pyramid side of the river. Giza metro station sits next to Giza train station and the buses that head for the plateau.
What to Do on a Layover in Cairo: is five hours enough to leave the airport?
Under 5 hours: Stay on the airport side. The free Automated People Mover carries you between Terminal 1, the Air Mall, the car park, Terminal 2, and Terminal 3 in five minutes maximum. It is the only transfer time in Cairo you can actually predict.
5 to 9 hours: One target, not two. Heliopolis sits closest to the terminals, and downtown is still realistic if you fix the return time before you leave and treat road traffic, not distance, as the thing that can beat you.
9 hours plus: Now a real Cairo day opens up: downtown and the museum quarter, Coptic Cairo off Line 1, or the Giza side. Midnight is the hinge. That is when the metro stops and you are back on the road.
Crew Tips for Cairo and Cairo Airport: metro fines, the taxi warning at arrivals, and the SIM rule for non-Egyptians
Public transport payments: Every station on all three lines sells the contactless cash wallet card. It costs EGP 80, takes a charge of EGP 40 up to EGP 200, carries no name so anyone can use it, and runs to no fixed period. Recharge it as often as you like, as long as it is not damaged.
Metro rules and fines: Your ticket is banded by the number of stations, so riding past your band costs you a EGP 50 fine. No ticket at all is EGP 100. Smoking in stations or trains, selling, begging, or crossing the tracks is a EGP 250 police fine issued by the metro police.
Connectivity and SIM cards: Egypt’s telecom regulator NTRA runs a separate SIM rule for non-Egyptians. You buy in person at a mobile operator branch, hand over an original valid passport and a residency document, and sign the contract yourself. Validity is tied to your residency period: one month after that period ends the card is disconnected, unless you supply a new extended residency document. Per operator, a foreign customer may hold at most 5 voice lines and 5 data lines. Then came 10 August 2026, when NTRA added urgent measures: bulk sale or activation of new lines through operator systems is suspended for corporations and entities, existing line holders are being told by SMS to visit a branch and sign a new contract under the actual user’s name, and biometric identity verification is being accelerated in the operators’ apps.
Taxis at arrivals: Free taxi drivers in the arrival hall often target tourists, and that warning comes from the airport operator itself. Look for the metered white taxis, most of them new and air conditioned. The old black and white ones usually have no meter, so the price is agreed before you travel. For what counts as acceptable, the operator points at the category C limousine price list as the upper limit.
Luggage you leave behind: Cairo Airport’s deposits management holds a bag you hand over until you come back for it. Queries and collection run daily except Friday and Saturday, 08:30 to 14:30. Start at the information office in departure hall 1 and call extension 4458; the bag is released against your own passport or a power of attorney issued from the land registry. Lost and found in Terminal 1, for all airlines except EgyptAir, is on +20 2 2265 5246 and +20 2 2265 4458, and the EgyptAir desk in Terminal 1 is on +20 2 2265 7328. No storage fee is published.
Local rules that catch crew out: Carry valid ID at all times. Photographing or filming security installations, personnel, vehicles, equipment, or government buildings has led to arrests and confiscated cameras. Recreational drones are their own trap: importing or using one is strictly prohibited. Avoid protests and demonstrations, and never photograph them.
Emergency Numbers for Cairo and Egypt
How do you get from Cairo Airport into the city?
By road, always. The airport operator lists limousine services as the most convenient way out, with prices fixed by destination and car category and pick-up points at the curb side in front of the terminals. Metered white taxis are there too, and city buses, which leave from the bus station in the parking area in front of Terminal 1 only. For the run into town the airport publishes neither a journey time nor a fare.
Is there a metro station at Cairo Airport?
No. Open the official Cairo Metro network map and there is no station at the airport. Line 3 ends at Adly Mansour, which the metro operator describes as a transport complex exchanging service between five modes: a Line 3 metro station, the Adly Mansour to Administrative Capital to Tenth of Ramadan electric train, a Cairo to Suez railway station, a Super Jet station, and a BRT station to connect with Cairo International Airport.
How much does the Cairo Metro cost?
Single tickets are banded by distance: EGP 10 for up to 9 stations, EGP 12 up to 16, EGP 15 up to 23, and EGP 20 up to 39 stations. A contactless cash wallet card costs EGP 80 and takes EGP 40 up to EGP 200 of credit. Get the band wrong and it is a EGP 50 fine, while traveling without a ticket is EGP 100.
Spotted a change? Tell us and we fix it for the next crew.
Crew Discounts in Cairo: verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff sit right below this guide. Bookmark this page before you walk out into the arrivals hall. Next Cairo rotation you start on the rates instead of a search box.
