# Spending your layover inside Cairo International Airport

Cairo's airport has no sleeping pods or transit hotel past passport control, so airside you rest in a lounge, at US$50 for up to 3 hours or with Priority Pass. For a bed you need a visa: Le Meridien is at Terminal 3, and EgyptAir may give its passengers a free room on a long connection.

- Web page: https://cairolayover.com/airport/
- Guide: [Cairo Layover](https://cairolayover.com/), an independent layover guide to Cairo International Airport (CAI), part of City Layover
- Updated 10 November 2026; facts checked 8 November 2026

## Can you sleep at Cairo airport during a layover?

Not in a bed past passport control: Cairo airport lists no sleeping pods or transit hotel airside, so rest in a lounge, which costs US$50 for up to 3 hours or takes Priority Pass. With a visa, Le Meridien Cairo Airport is at Terminal 3 and other hotels are nearby in Heliopolis. On one EgyptAir ticket with 8 hours or more in economy, EgyptAir may give you a free room, meals and transport.

## At a glance

- **Hotels at the terminals**: Le Meridien at Terminal 3, outside passport control; more in Heliopolis
- **Airside rooms**: None; lounges only
- **Lounge entry**: US$50 or Priority Pass, up to 3 hours
- **Fast Track**: Ahlan meet and assist, US$110; book 48 hours ahead
- **Left luggage**: None listed by the airport
- **Wi-Fi**: In the lounges; elsewhere, bring an eSIM

## Hotels in and next to the terminals

Cairo International Airport (CAI) has no hotel past passport control. Le Meridien Cairo Airport is at Terminal 3, and the airport's own hotel list names several more nearby in Heliopolis, but they're all on the Egypt side of the border: you need a visa to use them, and you clear passport control again on your way back. See [visa and transit rules](https://cairolayover.com/visa-and-transit/).

| Hotel | Where | Airside or landside | How you get there |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Le Meridien Cairo Airport | Terminal 3 | Landside: you enter Egypt | At the terminal; ask the hotel for directions from arrivals |
| Novotel Cairo Airport | Near the airport | Landside | A short taxi ride |
| Radisson Blu Hotel, Cairo Heliopolis | Heliopolis | Landside | A short taxi ride |
| Hilton Cairo Heliopolis | Heliopolis | Landside | A short taxi ride |
| The Gabriel, Heliopolis Towers, Le Passage Cairo | Heliopolis | Landside | A short taxi ride |

**Le Meridien** is the one to pick for a late landing and an early flight: it's at Terminal 3, the terminal EgyptAir and the other Star Alliance airlines use. The others suit a longer stop, when a short taxi ride each way matters less.

**EgyptAir's free room.** On one EgyptAir ticket between two international flights, with a connection of 8 hours or more in economy, or 6 in business or in economy booking class Y or B (your airline can tell you yours), EgyptAir may give you a hotel room, meals and transport for up to 24 hours, if no earlier connection was available. It isn't offered on separate tickets or fares discounted by half or more, and depends on the transfer desk having rooms, so ask there as soon as you land. You still need a visa.

**Sleeping in the terminal.** The airport publishes no rule on sleeping on the seats or on how long you can stay airside, so don't plan a night there: a lounge for 3 hours, or a hotel, is the safer choice.

## Day rooms

None of the hotels above publishes a day rate or hourly room, and the airport has no day rooms of its own. For a few hours' sleep between flights, email or call the hotel and ask for a day-use room before you book a full night: Le Meridien, at Terminal 3, is the closest.

## Lounges you can pay for

The lounges are past departure passport control, so you reach them once you've checked in for your next flight, or straight from your gate if you never leave the transit area.

| Lounge | Terminal | Hours | From |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| First and Business lounges | Not stated | Not stated | US$50 for up to 3 hours, or Priority Pass and other lounge cards |
| E-lounge | International departures, past passport control, next to the airport museum | Not stated | Mastercard and Priority cards |

- **Walk-in entry.** US$50 a person buys up to 3 hours. At the desk you pay in cash, in US dollars or the same in Egyptian pounds, or you can prepay online. Two children under 6 go in free.
- **Lounge cards.** Priority Pass, LoungeKey, Lounge Club, Lounge Pass, Diners Club and DragonPass all get you in.
- **Airline and bank cards.** First and business class passengers of the airport's partner airlines get in on their ticket. A Mastercard or American Express gets you in only if it is one of certain cards issued in the Middle East, so don't count on a card from anywhere else.
- **Which terminal.** The airport doesn't say, so ask at your airline's desk when you check in.

## Showers

The airport lists no public showers, and its lounge pages don't say which lounges have them. If a shower matters, ask at the lounge desk before you pay, or, if you can enter Egypt, take a room at Le Meridien.

## Fast Track

The airport's own **Ahlan** service sells help through the border, booked at least 48 hours ahead. For non-Egyptians, meet and assist costs US$110 and the VIP service US$220; the airport doesn't say whether that's per person. On a connection, Ahlan needs at least 4 hours between your flights. It's worth it if a slow border queue would ruin a tight layover; otherwise the e-Visa, bought before you fly, saves you the kiosk queue for less.

## Left luggage

The airport lists no left-luggage desk or lockers, only a lost and found. On one ticket your checked bags go through to your next flight, so you leave with your cabin bag. On separate tickets with a big case, rest at the airport instead of taking it into town: in the city, only the Grand Egyptian Museum's free lockers and the Egyptian Museum's cloakroom take bags over 40 by 40 cm.

## Connections, money and Wi-Fi

- **Between terminals.** The free Automated People Mover links Terminals 1, 2 and 3 in 5 minutes at most, 18 hours a day, with an airside side for connecting passengers and a public side for everyone else.
- **Your terminal.** EgyptAir and the other Star Alliance airlines use Terminal 3. For any other airline, read your terminal off your ticket or the airport's flight board.
- **Money.** The arrivals halls have banks, cash machines and exchange desks, before and after passport control. Carry US dollars for the visa and the lounge, and Egyptian pounds for taxis and tickets.
- **Wi-Fi.** The lounges have Wi-Fi, but the airport doesn't advertise free Wi-Fi elsewhere or sell SIM cards on its pages, so don't count on either. Set up an eSIM before you fly, for Uber and maps from the moment you land.

## Questions people ask

### Can I sleep at Cairo airport on a layover?

Not in a bed past passport control: the airport lists no sleeping pods or transit hotel airside. You can rest in a lounge for up to 3 hours, for US$50 or with Priority Pass. For a night, you need a visa and a hotel: Le Meridien Cairo Airport is at Terminal 3.

### Is there a hotel inside Cairo airport?

Le Meridien Cairo Airport is at Terminal 3, but outside passport control, so you need a visa to stay there. The Novotel, Radisson Blu and Hilton are a short taxi ride away in Heliopolis. None publishes a day rate, so ask the hotel.

### Can I pay for just a shower at Cairo airport?

The airport lists no public showers, and its lounge pages don't say which have them. Ask at a lounge desk before you pay the US$50, or book a hotel room if you can enter Egypt.

### Can I use Priority Pass at Cairo airport?

Yes. The airport's First and Business lounges, past departure passport control, take Priority Pass, as well as LoungeKey, Lounge Club, Lounge Pass, Diners Club and DragonPass, for up to 3 hours. Check your card's app for the lounge in your terminal. Without a lounge card, entry costs US$50.

### Can I leave my bags at Cairo airport?

Not as far as the airport says: it lists no left-luggage desk or lockers. Bring hand luggage only into the city. The Grand Egyptian Museum has free lockers and the Egyptian Museum a cloakroom, both for bags over 40 by 40 cm.

## Sources (checked 8 November 2026)

- [Cairo Airport Company: lounges (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.cairo-airport.com/en-us/Airport/Cairo-Airport-Lounges)
- [Cairo Airport Company: hotels (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.cairo-airport.com/en-us/Visit-Egypt/Hotels)
- [Cairo Airport Company: Ahlan fast track and meet and assist (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.cairo-airport.com/en-us/services/ahlan-service/service-information)
- [Cairo Airport Company: banks and ATMs (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.cairo-airport.com/en-us/services/passenger-guide/banks-atm)
- [Cairo Airport Company: Automated People Mover (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://www.cairo-airport.com/Automated-People-Mover)
- [EgyptAir: at the airport, check-in and layover hotel (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://www.egyptair.com/en/fly/check-in/Pages/at-the-airport.aspx)
- [Grand Egyptian Museum: FAQs, lockers (checked 10 Nov 2026)](https://gem.eg/faqs/)
- [Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: Egyptian Museum, bags (checked 8 Nov 2026)](https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/museums/egyptian-museum)