• Egypt launches tender for private operator at Hurghada International Airport
  
  
• Move part of plan to upgrade 11 airports, double tourist numbers by 2030
  
  
• Hurghada handled 10.5M passengers in 2024/25, up 22% year-on-year

Egypt’s civil aviation ministry has launched a tender for a private operator to run Hurghada International Airport, the first step in a government effort to draw private investment and upgrade airport infrastructure and services.

The plan, which initially covers 11 airports, was formalised in a March 2024 public-private partnership agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The programme is part of Egypt’s target to attract 30 million tourists by 2030, up from 15.7 million in 2024, and to lift total airport passenger traffic above 110 million by the end of the decade, compared with 66 million in 2023.

Hurghada is Egypt’s second-busiest airport and a major gateway for international tourism. Official data show Egyptian airports handled more than 50 million passengers in 2024 on nearly 400,000 flights. Hurghada International Airport recorded around 10.5 million passengers in the 2024/25 fiscal year, up 22 percent from a year earlier.

Tourism supported by civil aviation contributes 15 billion dollars to Egypt’s GDP and employs 1.2 million people, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The wider aviation value chain generates 21.1 billion dollars and 1.4 million jobs.

Alongside airport concessions, Egypt is pursuing other initiatives to reach its tourism targets, including the development of major attractions such as the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened on Nov. 1.

Henoc Dossa