Today Marks of 1st Egyptian Airport Opening Anniv.

Today (June 2) marks the anniversary of the opening of the first Egyptian airport.

In the 1920s, the Egyptian government named it Almaza Airport. It served as the first base of the Egyptian Army Air Force (EAAF). On this day in 1932, the first five de Havilland Gipsy Moth trainer aircraft arrived from Hatfield Aerodrome, north of London, flown by three Egyptian and two British pilots. The EAAF gained independence in 1937 and was renamed the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF).

In December 1931, the Egyptian Parliament approved the formation of an Anglo-Egyptian company called Misr Airwork S.A. to undertake civil aviation enterprises in Egypt. The company was authorized to establish and operate flying training schools, local passenger flights, service stations, housing, provisioning, maintenance and repair of civil aircraft, aerial photography and survey, as well as regular and occasional air transport services for carrying passengers, mail and freight. 

By 1938, the company, based at Almaza, operated regular scheduled flights between Cairo and Alexandria, and to Assiut, Nicosia, Haifa, and Baghdad, using a fleet comprising a D.H. Dragon, D.H. Dragonfly, three D.H.86s, and five D.H. Rapides. The company became fully Egyptian-owned in 1948, was nationalized in 1949, and was renamed United Arab Airlines in 1961, and then EgyptAir in 1971.

During World War II, the military aerodrome was renamed RAF Almaza, becoming EAF Almaza in 1947. Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II lists the EAF, roughly circa 1948, with six squadrons, of which Nos 1 and 3-6 were all at Almaza.

In 2016, Almaza is home to several Egyptian Air Force units, flying trainer and transport aircraft, helicopters, and VIP transports. Additionally, several private charter airlines also operate from there.