North Africa flight cancellations
- EgyptAir and Royal Jordanian cancelled over a dozen flights out of Cairo and Hurghada on Tuesday. - Affected routes included Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain, Beirut and Amman, disrupting regional connections. - Those cancellations added fresh travel disruption in North Africa on top of European border delays (travelandtourworld.com).
EgyptAir and Royal Jordanian canceled 14 flights from Cairo and Hurghada airports on Tuesday, stranding hundreds of passengers. (travelandtourworld.com) The cancellations hit routes to Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain, Beirut and Amman, with EgyptAir axing nine flights and Royal Jordanian five. No official reason was given, but airlines notified passengers via email and airport screens. (travelandtourworld.com) Cairo International Airport, North Africa's busiest hub handling 26 million passengers yearly, saw the most disruptions. Hurghada, a Red Sea resort gateway, lost connections to Gulf states popular with Egyptian workers. (cairo-airport.com; travelandtourworld.com) These cuts pile onto regional travel chaos from Iranian missile strikes on Israel last week, which grounded flights across the Middle East. Egypt closed its airspace briefly on April 14, forcing dozens of reroutes. (reuters.com; bbc.com) European airlines now face new North African delays on top of their own border snarls from enhanced security checks post-strikes. Lufthansa and others extended suspensions to Cairo until April 24. (flightradar24.com; reuters.com) The Iran-Israel escalation has canceled over 1,000 flights region-wide since April 13, hitting EgyptAir's network hardest with 20% of its Gulf routes affected. (simpleflying.com) EgyptAir urged passengers to check its app for rebooking, offering waivers for changes until April 25. Royal Jordanian rerouted some via Istanbul. (egyptair.com; rj.com) Travelers report chaos at Cairo terminals, with lines stretching hours for vouchers. One passenger told local media, "We've been here since dawn—no answers." (ahram.org.eg) Airspace closures stem from no-fly zones over Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan to avoid missile paths. Pilots use satellite tracking to skirt risks, but insurers now charge 300% higher premiums for overflights. (flightradar24.com; bloomberg.com) These disruptions echo 2023's Gaza war flight halts, which cost Middle East carriers $3 billion. Full recovery could take weeks if tensions ease. (iata.org)
