Located at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East, Europe and the Gulf Area, Cairo International Airport offers excellent possibilities for transit and transfer passengers all over the world. By taking decisive steps for the future expansion of Cairo Airport, Cairo Airport Company has embarked on a long-term development plan to upgrade and modernise its facilities, increase capacity and improve services. It initiated an international tender for management of the Airport .
The Terminal is designed for both international and domestic traffic and has a capacity of 11 million passengers annually. It consists of a five-level main building and two concourses,which provide a total gross floor area of more than 165,000 square meters. A bridge between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 will ensure easy access and short transfer times in between the terminals. Airside, Terminal 3 will provide 54 aircraft stands, 23 of which will be contact gates directly linked to the terminal building. Terminal 3 is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technology. A fully automated Baggage Handling System with integrated inline screening will ensure safe and smooth operation of the baggage. An integrated Security System fulfills latest international requirements and set new standards within the region. This includes biometric border controls, a ramp management system and all flight related systems. The start of operation of Terminal 3 was schedule for the third quarter 2008.
The Cairo International Airport expansion project, with an estimated cost of 2.5 billion L.E funded in part by the World Bank, is meant to address over-crowding and boost the nation's tourism industry. Designed to accommodate thousands of passengers each day, Terminal 3 is expected to solve the capacity issues. The airport will be able to serve 22 million travelers per year, says Fathalla, double the 11 million people that it currently serves.Upcoming renovations to Terminal 2 will expand the capacity to approximately 26 million.
At the time of the press tour, around 90 percent of the construction and equipping of TB3 was complete. Terminal 3 has three floors with "fingers" housing the departure and arrival gates. The Terminal which is twice as large as Terminal 1 and 2 combined, has 160 elevators, escalators and moving walkways and will boast a multi-storey parking lot capable of holding more than 3,000 cars. Passengers will find color-coded signage and floor markings to make it easy find their way around.
The upgrades included increasing the number of X-ray check-in points, check-in counters and immigration and service counters, as well as a complete design-overhaul of the departure hall. Express Service lanes were also put into place alongside a new retail area and cafeteria.
In addition to being the base for EGYPTAIR, Terminal 3 will also house Star Alliance member airlines Singapore Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, bmi and Lufthansa- in keeping with the alliance's "Move Under One Roof" concept.
In addition to funding the new terminal, the project money also covered the cost of the new terminal at Sharm EL-Sheikh International Airport that opened in June 2007, as well as a series of studies to strengthen the civil aviation sector's strategic operations and environmental management.
Even though Terminal 3 is still in progress, passengers have already noticed the difference in Cairo International Airport's service and facilities.Anticipating that the already-booming sector will continue to grow, EGYPTAIR is planning to expand its fleet to 72 aircraft by purchasing an additional 21 planes over the next four years.