ITTN’s Shane Cullen met with the ambassador to Egypt in Ireland, Ireland’s Ambassador to Egypt and the CEO of EgyptAir as well as travel trade members including Dublin Airport’s Edel Redmond plus APG’s Paul Nolan. All were attending an event celebrating the new direct service from Dublin to Cairo with Star Alliance member, EgyptAir. Notably, this route is Ireland’s first scheduled air service to and from Egypt.
This new service operates 4 times per week (Tue, Thurs, Sat, Sun) year-round, on an A320neo aircraft and features 16 business class seats and 126 economy seats. All seats feature inflight entertainment systems and meals are provided.
Amr Nabil, EgyptAir’s Chairman & CEO highlighted the strategic benefits of Dublin Airport’s location as the airline seeks to expand its route network, “Due to Ireland’s significant location on the western part of the European continent, Dublin Airport represents a strategic hub for passengers flying to Egypt’s top leisure destinations; namely Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan, in addition to EGYPTAIR network reaching more than 40 destinations in the Middle East and Africa and more destinations would be added in the near future”
He added that the airline offers significant connectivity via its hub in Cairo to numerous destinations across Africa and Asia. He mentioned how Dublin offers a great gateway to the USA/Canada for passengers flying from Egypt with Star Alliance partners Air Canada and United Airlines.
EGYPTAIR is the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt. The airline is headquartered at Cairo International Airport and operates scheduled passenger and freight services to more than 75 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Gary McClean, Deputy Managing Director of Dublin Airport, welcomed the news, saying:
“Dublin Airport welcomes the launch of a first ever direct route between Dublin and Cairo. The expansion of EGYPTAIR’s route offering out of Dublin Airport to Cairo is very exciting for both business and leisure passengers in Ireland and Egypt. Cairo is a beautiful city steeped in culture and with a rich history. We look forward to working with EGYPTAIR to promote this new service.”
Captain Amr Nabil, EGYPTAIR CEO, said, “On behalf of EGYPTAIR, the national carrier of Egypt and Star Alliance member, I would like to express my pleasure and sincere appreciation to all of you who generously supported us to operate the non-stop service between Cairo and Dublin.
The new route represents an additional link between Egypt and Ireland, boosting the tourism and trade traffic between the two countries and beyond on our network.
This year, EGYPTAIR celebrates its 90th anniversary, as the first airline in the Middle East and Africa to join IATA. These 90 years have marked many successes and limitless ambition to connect people and cultures all around the world together.”
With a metropolitan area population of 20 million, Cairo is the largest city in the Arab world. It is located on the banks of the Nile, and the famous Pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx are less than 10 miles from the city centre.
