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.
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.
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.
| 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.