Egypt’s Red Sea Area Airports Continue to Expand

With ever increasing numbers of tourists flocking to Egypt’s Red Sea Riviera, the area’s different airports are all undergoing various levels of expansion and upgrading.

The expansion of Hurghada airport is underway. The first phase, which was completed in 2005 and cost around $7 million, upgraded the entire existing terminal, increasing its hourly capacity from 2,500 to 3,000 passengers.

The second phase is well underway and will see the construction of a new terminal that will be able to handle 7.5 million passengers annually, increasing the airport’s total capacity to 12 million passengers annually, up from the current capacity of 4.5 million and the 3.75 million before the completion of the first phase.

The Hurghada airport serves the ever growing tourist destination of Hurghada, as well as the other resorts in the area, such as El Gouna, Soma Bay, Makadi Bay and nearby Safaga, all a short drive away. Sometime in 2007, Sharm el-Sheikh airport will also see the completion of its own expansion project, which includes the construction of a new terminal and more duty free shops, restaurants and offices, as well as an air mall. The project will more than double the annual capacity of Sharm el-Sheikh airport from 2.7 million to 6.5 million passengers.

Even the new Marsa Alam airport, about 200 kilometres south of Hurghada, is undergoing a major expansion that will double the size of its terminals and increase its runway length. Marsa Alam airport is one of the world’s few successful privately built and BOT run airports. It serves the new and quickly growing Marsa Alam area and the Port Ghalib resort nearby. The project will be completed in late 2007, some four years earlier than initially planned.

The steady increase in tourist arrival to Egypt, with no sign of waning anytime soon, means that all these expansions will surely be needed.

The United Nation's World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) 2005 Index stated that within the Middle East, Egypt recorded the biggest increase in the region, with visitor arrivals increasing to over 8 million and Egyptian authorities hope to double this number to 16 million by 2014.

And so far, they seem to be right on schedule.

Visitor numbers have steadily increased. Up from almost nothing in the early 1990s, tourist arrivals reached 8.0 million in 2004. In 2005, international tourist arrivals reached a record high of over 8.6 million, an increase of six percent from 2004.

This year started well, with figures for January to June 2006 show a 12 percent increase over the same period in 2005, according to the Egyptian Tourism Authority, increasing expectations that last year’s records will be broken.

This various projects will not only serve the purpose of handling this increased traffic, but they will go a long way in making the actual travelling to the Red Sea a more enjoyable and easy experience.

Source: The Red Sea Holiday Magazine, Issue no 50, January 2007