Sharm El Sheikh International Airport

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (Arabic: مطار شرم الشيخ الدولي‎ Maṭār Sharm El Sheikh El Dawli) (IATA: SSH, ICAO: HESH) is an international airport located in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It is the third-busiest airport in Egypt after Cairo International Airport and Hurghada International Airport.

Sharm El Sheikh
International Airport

مطار شرم الشيخ الدولي
Summary
Airport typePublic (former military)
OperatorEgyptian Government
ServesSharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL143 ft / 44 m
Coordinates27°58′38″N 34°23′41″E
Websitesharm-el-sheikh-airport.com
Map
SSH
Location of airport in Sinai
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04L/22R 3,081 10,108 Asphalt
04R/22L 3,081 10,108 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passenger throughput8,693,990[1]
Source: DAFIF[2][3]

Overview

The airport was opened on 14 May 1968 as an Israeli Air Force base. After the signing of the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979 and subsequent Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula, it was reopened as a civilian airport.

The largest regular aircraft using the airport was a Transaero Airlines-operated Boeing 747-400. These flights transiting from Moscow ended when Transaero ceased operations in October 2015. British Airways operated the only regular scheduled Boeing 777-200ER service (from Gatwick Airport). However, this service (and others) has ceased due to concerns over the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 on 31 October 2015.

In 2008, the Egyptian Airports Holding Company (EAHC) announced plans to build a third new terminal at the airport. In July 2009 the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) signed a contract with Spanish construction designers Pointec for the third terminal. The terminal was planned to double the airport's capacity from 7.5 to 15 million passengers per year. The project's primary costs were estimated at $350 million. The design phase was due to be completed by early 2010. International contractors then were invited for an open tender to construct the terminal, which was scheduled to be completely constructed by 2015.[4] By September 2016 construction had not commenced.

In November 2015, passenger numbers significantly decreased due to the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 on 31 October 2015. This led to airlines cancelling flights from the airport and operating rescue flights for stranded passengers. Governments from Russia and European countries such as the United Kingdom banned airlines from operating to the airport, citing safety concerns that were highlighted following the crash. The Government of the United Kingdom, HM Government advised against all travel to and from Sharm El Sheikh.

In January 2018, it was announced that EgyptAir Express would open a base at the airport for its incoming fleet of Airbus A220s. This would increase the amount of destinations served by the airline at the airport with the possibility of operating to cities in Italy, Germany, Morocco and India non-stop.[5]

On 22 October 2019 the UK lifted the flight ban on flights between UK airports and Sharm El Sheikh.[6]

On 1 November 2019 TUI AG, parent company of TUI Airways and TUI UK announced a resumption of flights to the airport, starting in February 2020.

Terminals

Terminal 1

On 23 May 2007, the airport's second terminal was inaugurated with a capacity for 5 million passengers per year. The two-level, 43,000-square-metre (460,000 sq ft) terminal features 40 check-in counters and is designed to cater to a large number of international and chartered flights. It has two domestic and six international gates, all of which exit to remote stands. The terminal comprises three building components: two circular-shaped halls fused together by a wedge-shaped intermediate space dubbed 'the boat'. This serves as a passenger transit hub housing passport control, duty-free, and VIP areas as well as cafes/restaurants. The halls, in stark textural contrast to the solid mass of 'the boat', feature airy, billowing tent-like roofs inspired by the indigenous Bedouin culture.

Terminal 2

Although known as Terminal 2, this is actually the airport's original terminal building. The building underwent a complete modernisation programme in 2004 and has a passenger handling capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year. Since the inauguration of Terminal 1 in 2007 most airlines have shifted operations to the new building.

In December 2016 Egyptian Airports Company announced plans to extend Terminal 2. EAC plans to expand the terminal and increase its capacity by two million passengers per year, thus taking the total capacity of the airport to 9.5 million. This also includes the construction of a new runway and 40 new airsides.[7]

In November 2019, it was announced part of the expansion of Terminal 2 had been completed increasing the airports annual capacity, from 7 million, to 9 million a year. The plan aims to increase the capacity to 20 million passengers per annum as the number of tourists visiting the resort city is rising, during winter in particular. For now, the number of gates was raised to 12 from 8. The total cost of development works in the airport has reached LE 800 million so far.[8]

Airlines and destinations
Departure hall at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
Control tower at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Egypt[9] Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Bergamo, Naples
Seasonal: Amman–Queen Alia, Beirut
Air Astana Almaty,[10] Nur-Sultan[10]
Air Bucharest Seasonal charter: Bucharest[11]
Air Cairo[12] Bari, Bergamo,[13] Cairo, Katowice, Milan–Malpensa, Naples,[14] Rome–Fiumicino, Tbilisi, Warsaw–Chopin, Yerevan
Seasonal: Amman–Queen Alia, Kuwait City[15]
Air Moldova Seasonal charter: Chișinău[16]
Air Serbia Seasonal charter: Belgrade[17]
airBaltic Seasonal charter: Riga[16]
AlbaStar Seasonal charter: Bergamo, Milan–Malpensa, Verona[18]
AlMasria Universal Airlines Seasonal: Cairo
Seasonal charter: Bari,[19] Bologna,[20] Catania,[19] Cluj–Napoca,[21] Milan–Malpensa,[19] Naples,[19] Rome–Fiumicino,[19] Tirana,[22] Verona,[19] Yerevan
Avia Traffic Company Bishkek[23]
Aviolet Seasonal charter: Belgrade[24]
Azerbaijan Airlines Seasonal: Baku[25]
Azur Air Ukraine Charter: Kiev–Boryspil,[26] Lviv[26]
Seasonal charter: Kharkiv,[26] Odessa,[26] Zaporizhia[26]
Belavia Charter: Brest,[16] Gomel,[16] Grodno,[16] Minsk,[27][16] Mogilev,[16] Vitebsk[16]
Blue Air Seasonal charter: Bucharest[28]
Chair Airlines Zürich
Corendon Airlines Europe[29] Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn (begins 1 November 2020), Hannover (begins 2 October 2020),[30] Nuremberg (begins 8 November 2020)
Seasonal charter: Billund,[31] Copenhagen,[31] Leipzig/Halle[32]
DAT Seasonal charter: Billund,[33] Copenhagen[33]
easyJet London–Gatwick (resumes 30 September 2020),[34] Manchester (begins 1 September 2020),[34] Milan–Malpensa (resumes 19 September 2020),[35] Venice (begins 3 September 2020)[36]
EgyptAir Alexandria–Borg el Arab, Cairo, Hurghada, Kuwait City, London–Gatwick[37]
Seasonal: Jeddah,[38] Luxor,[39] Medina[38]
Enter Air Charter: Katowice,[40] Warsaw–Chopin[41]
Seasonal charter: Poznań[40]
FlyEgypt Cairo[42]
Seasonal charter: Basel/Mulhouse,[43] Cluj–Napoca,[44] Graz,[45] Košice,[46] Oslo–Gardermoen[47]
Flynas Jeddah, Riyadh[48]
FlyOne Seasonal charter: Chișinău[16]
GetJet Airlines Charter: Vilnius[16]
Holiday Europe Seasonal charter: Berlin–Schönefeld,[49] Cologne/Bonn,[49] Düsseldorf,[49] Frankfurt,[49] Leipzig/Halle,[49] Munich,[49] Nuremberg,[49] Riga,[50] Sofia,[51] Stuttgart,[49] Tallinn,[52] Vilnius[53]
Iraqi Airways Charter: Baghdad[54]
Jazeera Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City[55]
Jordan Aviation Amman–Queen Alia
Kuwait Airways Seasonal: Kuwait City
Neos[56] Bologna, Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Verona
Seasonal: Bergamo
Nile Air Cairo[57]
Seasonal charter: Baghdad,[58] Tashkent[59]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[60]
Saudia Jeddah, Riyadh[61]
SkyUp Charter: Kharkiv,[62] Kiev–Boryspil,[62] Lviv,[62] Odessa,[62] Zaporizhia[62]
Seasonal charter: Kherson,[62] Mykolaiv[62]
Smartlynx Airlines Estonia Seasonal charter: Tallinn[16]
Smartwings[63] Seasonal charter: Brno, Ostrava, Prague
Smartwings Slovakia Seasonal charter: Bratislava[64]
Somon Air Seasonal charter: Dushanbe[65]
Sunday Airlines Charter: Almaty,[16] Nur–Sultan[16]
Seasonal charter: Aktau,[66] Aktobe,[16] Karaganda,[16] Kostanay,[66] Oral,[66] Oskemen,[66] Shymkent,[66] Taraz[66]
TUI Airways[67] Birmingham,[68] Bristol,[68] Doncaster/Sheffield (resumes 5 November 2020),[68] London–Gatwick,[68] Manchester[68]
Seasonal: Cardiff (resumes 2 November 2020),[69] Edinburgh (resumes 2 November 2020),[70] Newcastle upon Tyne (resumes 7 November 2020)[71]
TUI fly Belgium[72] Brussels, Charleroi, Ostend/Bruges
TUI fly Netherlands Eindhoven
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Ukraine International Airlines Charter: Kiev–Boryspil,[73] Lviv,[73] Odessa[73]
Seasonal charter: Kharkiv,[73] Zaporizhia[73]
Windrose Airlines Charter: Dnipropetrovsk,[16] Kiev–Boryspil[16]
Seasonal charter: Kharkiv,[16] Lviv,[74] Odessa[16]
Wings of Lebanon Seasonal charter: Beirut[75]

Accidents and incidents
  • On January 3, 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604, en route to Cairo and then Paris as its final destination, crashed in the Red Sea shortly after taking off from Sharm El Sheikh, killing all 148 people on board. Causes for the accident include pilot error and instrument failure, but investigators have been unable to reach a consensus.
  • On August 23, 2015, Thomson Airways Flight 476, approaching Sharm El Sheikh at the end of a flight from London Stansted Airport with 189 passengers aboard, took evasive action to avoid a missile traveling toward it; the missile missed the airliner by about 1,000 feet (300 meters), and the plane landed safely. An investigation concluded that the missile was an Egyptian armed forces missile that had strayed from a military exercise.[76]
  • On October 31, 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268, en route from Sharm El Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russia, crashed in the Sinai Peninsula between Nekhel and Housna, killing all 224 people on board, most of them Russian tourists. The jihadist group ISIL, at war with Russian forces in nearby Syria, quickly claimed responsibility for the crash, which was believed by western governments to be the result of a terrorist bombing. Russian investigators confirmed in mid-November that the flight was bombed; the investigation is still ongoing.[77] Following these events, many countries ordered all flights to Sharm El Sheikh suspended until further notice.[77]

See also

References
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  2. Airport information for HESH at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
  3. Airport information for SSH at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
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  7. Dey, Paromita. "Egypt: Tender for Sharm El-Sheikh airport works - ConstructionWeekOnline.com". www.constructionweekonline.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
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  35. "After 5 years easyJet returns to fly to Sharm El Sheik from Malpensa". malpensa24.it. 15 January 2020.
  36. https://www.easyjet.com/it/prenota/le-nostre-nuove-rotte
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