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Home » Reviews » Lounge Reviews » Review: First Class Lounge Cairo (CAI)
Lounge ReviewsPriority Pass

Review: First Class Lounge Cairo (CAI)

Matthew Klint Posted onNovember 26, 2021November 14, 2023 19 Comments

a group of people sitting at tables in a room with windows

The only thing first class about this lounge is the name. If you thought the EgyptAir lounge in Cairo was bad, this takes “bad” to a whole different level.

First Class Lounge Cairo (CAI) Terminal 3 Review

I’m really going to make this brief: stay away. This lounge is located in Terminal 3 just past security and passport control. Turn left and walk toward Zone E. You’ll pass several offices on the way down the hall, all filled with men and women smoking (the no smoking signs through Cairo Airport are laughable).

a sign in a room
This is apparently a credit card lounge as well, as a large MasterCard sign stood outside and an American Express sign inside.

The sign will say “Cairo Airport Company” Lounge. Walk inside. Just walk right in, because no was checking who was coming in and out. It was packed. I wonder why?

Good luck finding seating. The lounge was all tables and chairs and all were occupied. I did not see any power ports.

There was some hot food, which is more than the EgyptAir lounges offered, but it did not look very appetizing, certainly not when there were swarms of people lined up to devour it like vultures. Potatoes, hardboiled eggs, mutton. And discarded cups.

a buffet set up with food on a table

There were also sandwiches covered in plastic wrap (the entire platter, not the individual sandwiches) in a refrigerator. Next to it was a microwave, a coffee machine, and a refrigerator with some juices and water.

a display case with food on it

a refrigerator with drinks in it

a man and woman standing in front of a microwave

I later found a front desk where I guess I should have checked in..but it was unattended. You’ll note this lounge does accept Priority Pass…but this is one of those lounges where I’d rather sit in the gate area then sit in.

a reception desk in a building

You’ve been warned.

Then again, like most things in life, we’ll probably have someone in the comments section note what a great lounge this is and how empty it was when they went. Maybe I just went at the wrong time of day. But I’m still not going back.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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19 Comments

  1. Aaron Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 10:25 am

    “we’ll probably have someone in the comments section note what a great lounge this is and how empty it was when they went.”

    To be fair, this review doesn’t really show or tell us much about the lounge as a whole, with regards to the seating areas, bathrooms, office areas, etc.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 26, 2021 at 10:53 am

      It was so crowded in the restrooms and seating area I could not take a picture.

      • DC not in DC Reply
        November 26, 2021 at 7:09 pm

        Thank you for not taking a picture in the restrooms.

        Are there any awesome lounges in Africa? The SA lounge in LUN and the ET lounge(s) in ADD are not much better, except for the smoking.

  2. Adil Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 11:20 am

    “I’m really going to make this brief: stay away.”

    Fortunately, you continued. I enjoyed the delightfully tart observations!

  3. Stuart Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 12:11 pm

    Aha! Now we know the origins of the AA Turkey Pastrami sandwich.

  4. Ken Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 5:08 pm

    I’ve been in that lounge and yes: it’s a shithole. Still, if you have a long layover, it’s better than hanging out in the terminal ….

    • Robert Reply
      November 27, 2021 at 2:36 am

      Yes Totally is when I went also.

      Definately stay away and eat at your peril.

  5. Anthony Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    This is not the lounge that requires Star Alliance Gold Status? I was there in June. It was terrible.

    • Andrew Stuart Reply
      November 27, 2021 at 4:56 pm

      Actually, it sounds like the lounge where Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker met Hans Solo and Chewbacca for the first time in “Star Wars”….

  6. Mike Reply
    November 26, 2021 at 7:25 pm

    Ironic when people travel to ports to get good deal, but then complain when something isn’t up to First Class standard….

    If you wanted a First Class Experience, you could have booked Ahlan Exclusive Service that would have seen you check in at the VIP terminal, have private immigration clearance and an entire lounge for yourself prior to being driven to the aircraft. But I guess you didn’t want to spend USD $100…

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 26, 2021 at 7:30 pm

      I had no idea this was an option and would have done it. Next time. By the way, are you familiar with CAI T3?

      • Mike Reply
        November 26, 2021 at 8:07 pm

        Extremely.

        Here you go https://www.cairo-airport.com/Services/Ahlan-Service/Service-Information

        Price seems to have increase to $150.

        On arrival you’ll be meet at the aircraft then taken to a vehicle then the VIP terminal where you’ll be seated in a lounge on your own while the staff process your immigration and retrieve your luggage. Your hotel driver can pick you up directly from the Ahlan exit.

        The process is the same on the reverse. You can stay within the VIP terminal are in a private lounge or head to the airport lounges.

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          November 26, 2021 at 8:09 pm

          I was going to ask you about Kochab Lounge. Is that gone? Did the remodeled Alioth Lounge take over that space? I couldn’t tell during my visit.

    • Robert Reply
      November 27, 2021 at 2:38 am

      Obviously you are American!

  7. Abdullah Reply
    November 27, 2021 at 4:40 am

    Well just fly Eygptair to Saudi Arabia (any airport) and enjoy their so called lounge in the seasonal terminal that if you dare to call it so !!!! I stop flying their national carrier because you pay for business class and you get less that economy services !

  8. Laila Reply
    November 27, 2021 at 12:11 pm

    So sad, I love Egypt & Egyptians, but Cairo Airport is unfortunately a different story.
    Mathew, have you used Borg al Arab airport in Alexandria, Egypt?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 27, 2021 at 12:21 pm

      I have never been to Alexandria, but plan to go in 2022.

  9. Mohamed Aboelwafa Reply
    November 28, 2021 at 3:27 am

    First of all this is not the First class lounge. This is the Mastercard lounge and it is not operated by Egypt air. Secondly I usually use it and it is not the best but it has all you need not in high quality but satisfactory. And it is not always packed as you say, and if you don’t like it, then don’t come again. I see the writer is very biased.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      November 28, 2021 at 10:30 am

      Relax Mohamed. I never said this was an EgyptAir lounge. According to the sign above the door and airport signage, it is the “first class” lounge. I praised some of the other lounges (Alioth, for example), but this one is just not a nice one.

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