EgyptAir (IATA MS) is a full-service carrier based in Egypt, a member of the Star Alliance alliance. Across the corridors catalogued here it flies 16 routes from African airports, reaching 15 destinations in 15 countries, with home hubs at Cairo (CAI). Most of these are intra-Africa and Gulf-hub business corridors. Its standard checked-baggage baseline is 23 kg, lifted by about 18 kg on diaspora and migrant-worker corridors, and EgyptAir runs dedicated Hajj and Umrah charters.
At a glance
14 catalogued corridors on this site are flown by EgyptAir (MS), a full-service carrier based in Egypt and a member of Star Alliance, with a 23 kg checked-baggage baseline.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| IATA code | MS |
| Home country | Egypt |
| Alliance | Star Alliance |
| Carrier type | full-service |
| Checked-baggage baseline | 23 kg |
| Diaspora / migrant baggage uplift | +18 kg |
| Hajj / Umrah charter service | Yes |
An advertised baseline and a booked allowance are different objects. EgyptAir publishes the 23 kg figure for standard economy while also selling stripped fare families below it — and those cheaper buckets are exactly what a fare cache surfaces first. Confirm against your own booking class before packing to any published number.
Our notes record a possible diaspora or migrant-worker baggage uplift of about +18 kg for EgyptAir — an unverified figure, so confirm any extra allowance with the airline before you pack for it. Read it as a corridor-specific promotion: uplifts of this kind attach to nominated routes and fare families, are rarely honoured on a codeshare or interline segment operated by another airline, and usually exclude the deepest-discount buckets. Treat it as unconfirmed until your own booking class shows it.
Routes EgyptAir flies from Africa — 16 corridors
14 corridors covered on this site are flown by EgyptAir, reaching 13 destinations and totalling about 157 weekly departures, with block times from 1.5 h to 5.0 h. This is the African-outbound catalogue, not the airline’s global network.
| Route | Freq/wk | Block (h) | Market low (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo (CAI) → Dubai (DXB) | ~35 | ~3.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Jeddah (JED) | ~21 | ~2.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Doha (DOH) | ~21 | ~3.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → London (LHR) | ~14 | ~5.0 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Frankfurt (FRA) | ~11 | ~4.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Paris (CDG) | ~11 | ~4.5 | — |
| Nairobi (NBO) → Cairo (CAI) | ~7 | ~4.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Istanbul (IST) | ~7 | ~2.0 | $175 |
| Addis Ababa (ADD) → Khartoum (KRT) | ~5 | ~2.0 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Amman (AMM) | ~5 | ~1.5 | $301 |
| Cairo (CAI) → Athens (ATH) | ~5 | ~2.0 | $185 |
| Cairo (CAI) → Khartoum (KRT) | ~5 | ~2.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Beirut (BEY) | ~5 | ~1.5 | $271 |
| Cairo (CAI) → Nairobi (NBO) | ~5 | ~4.5 | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Lagos (LOS) | — | — | — |
| Cairo (CAI) → Addis Ababa (ADD) | — | — | — |
The USD market-low column is the cheapest fare our Travelpayouts cache has seen on that corridor across all carriers, not a EgyptAir-only price; use it as a floor when comparing.
5 of those corridors are flagged as labour-migration or diaspora routes. That flag is why the baggage column matters more than the seat map on this carrier’s page: on a diaspora corridor the second checked bag, and whether it is bought online or at the counter, routinely costs more than the fare gap between EgyptAir and the next airline on the route.
Passenger compensation rights
EgyptAir touches EU/EEA airports, so a 3 h+ delay or cancellation on a flight departing the EU is claimable under EU261 regardless of your passport — eligibility follows the operating carrier and the departure airport, not nationality.
| Regime | When it applies | Remedy for a long delay / cancellation |
|---|---|---|
| EU261 | Any departure from an EU/EEA airport (CDG, FRA, AMS, BRU, LIS, MAD, ATH), any airline. | €250 (≤1,500 km), €400 (1,500–3,500 km) or €600 (>3,500 km) for a 3 h+ arrival delay or a cancellation within the airline’s control, plus meals and a hotel where needed. |
| UK261 | Departures from a UK airport (LHR, MAN), any airline. | £220, £350 or £520 by distance, mirroring EU261, for a 3 h+ delay or cancellation within the airline’s control. |
| Saudi GACA | Flights to or from Saudi Arabia (JED, MED, RUH). | Duty of care, rebooking or a full refund, and compensation for cancellations and long delays within the airline’s control under GACA’s passenger-protection rules. |
| Montreal Convention 1999 | Any international itinerary — baggage and delay losses. | Compensation for lost, damaged or delayed baggage (up to 1,519 SDR per passenger) and for provable losses caused by delay (up to 6,303 SDR), limits in force since 28 December 2024. |
When EgyptAir is the right choice
14 catalogued corridors is the practical scope of this decision: EgyptAir is worth choosing where it flies your corridor nonstop, where its 23 kg baseline beats the alternative, and where Star Alliance earning matters to you. Compare the block-time column, not only the price column.
You should choose EgyptAir for its included 23 kg allowance and through-checked bags on connecting itineraries; diaspora and migrant-worker travellers gain from the ~18 kg extra-baggage uplift; pilgrims can book its dedicated Hajj and Umrah charter product; frequent flyers earn and burn across the Star Alliance network. Compare it against the other carriers on each corridor in the route table above before booking EgyptAir.
The honest counter-case first. A single carrier is rarely the right answer on every corridor, and on a route where EgyptAir connects while a competitor flies nonstop, the competitor usually wins on total elapsed time even at a higher fare. Compare the block-time column, not just the price column, on each corridor page — the difference between a nonstop and a one-stop routing on this site’s long-haul corridors is regularly eight hours or more.
FAQ
6 questions below answer what travellers ask most often about this page’s subject, drawn from the same route, carrier, airport and fare data as everything above. Where a figure is missing from our data, the answer says so rather than estimating.
What is EgyptAir’s checked baggage allowance? EgyptAir’s checked-baggage baseline is 23 kg, normally included in its standard fares.
Is EgyptAir part of an airline alliance? EgyptAir is a member of the Star Alliance alliance.
What kind of airline is EgyptAir? EgyptAir (MS) is a full-service carrier from Egypt.
How many routes does EgyptAir fly from Africa? EgyptAir operates 16 routes from African airports catalogued here — see the list above; each links to a route guide.
Can I claim compensation on a EgyptAir flight? Yes, on flights departing the EU/EEA. A 3 h+ arrival delay or cancellation within EgyptAir’s control pays €250–€600 by distance under EU261, whatever your nationality.
What is the cheapest route EgyptAir flies from Africa? The lowest cached fare on a corridor flown by EgyptAir in our weekly snapshot was about $175 on Cairo–Istanbul (CAI-IST) — a dated observation, not a current price; prices move with season, so search live fares before booking.
Sources
4 primary sources cited on this page are regulator and government material, not secondary summaries. Each is listed with what it actually governs, so a claim on this page can be checked against the instrument it comes from. Where a value is missing from our own data we leave the cell blank rather than estimate it.
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EU261 — Regulation 261/2004 — the consolidated text of Regulation 261/2004 itself — the compensation amounts, the distance bands and the extraordinary-circumstances defence.
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UK261 — UK Civil Aviation Authority — the UK regulator’s passenger pages, which set out the UK261 amounts and the complaint escalation route after the airline’s own reply.
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Saudi GACA — passenger protection — the Saudi regulator, whose passenger-protection rules govern care, rebooking, refunds and compensation on flights to and from the Kingdom.
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AirHelp — flight-compensation claims — a commercial claims service, cited as the industry explainer alongside the regulator rather than instead of it.
Related
- Cairo airport (CAI) — Cairo International, Egypt: 12 catalogued departure corridors and 1 arrival corridor.
- Flights to Egypt — country landing page: 1 catalogued corridor from African airports, carriers, visa row and the USD fare floor we have on file.
- Flights to Ethiopia — country landing page: 6 catalogued corridors from African airports, carriers, visa row and the USD fare floor we have on file.
On African corridors the useful alternative is frequently a different gateway or a different airline, not a different city.