Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Sharm El Sheikh Tops Africa's Fastest-Growing Airports


Tue 10 Dec 2019 | 08:57 PM
Hassan El-Khawaga

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport topped the list of fastest-growing major airports in Africa by capacity, according to a new study by Routesonline, as airlines continue to return to the Egyptian leisure resort.

The latest figures from Sabre Market Intelligence have revealed that the airport, which is the third busiest in Egypt, has increased capacity by 28.9% this year to 1.49 million available departure seats. This compares with 1.16 million departure seats in 2018.

The study pointed to the growing flights from Ukraine's Wind Rose Aviation, Pegasus Airlines of Turkey, Air Cairo, and Neos Air of Italy to the Red Sea resort, adding Turkish airlines like Onur Air and AtlasGlobal operated flights to Sharm El Sheikh in 2019. 

Hurghada is ranked the third in the top ten list of fastest-growing major African airports, recording a growth rate of 11.9% this year. 

[caption id="attachment_96115" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Hurghada International Airport Hurghada International Airport[/caption]

The number of seats in 2019 became more than double that in 2016.

In this regard, Tourism Minister Dr. Rania Al-Mashat congratulated Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada airports on their leading rankings, noting the study shows the success of the Egyptian efforts globally and the world's trust in the Egyptian destinations. 

https://twitter.com/RaniaAlMashat/status/1203579183936548864

On Twitter, Al-Mashat said: "Congratulations #Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh airport for leading Africa’s top fastest-growing airports at 28.9% YoY growth and to Hurghada for ranking 3rd at 11.9% YoY. We welcome travelers from all over the world to experience the beauty of our destinations." 

The minister pointed out that Sharm El Sheikh's airport would witness a boom in the number of tourists in the coming period after the UK resumption of flights to the Red Sea resort city.