Air travelers across Egypt and the wider Middle East are facing a fresh wave of schedule chaos, with more than 10 flights involving Egypt reportedly canceled and over a thousand others delayed across the region. Low-cost carriers such as EasyJet and Pegasus are among those affected, disrupting key links between Egypt and major cities including Berlin, Istanbul, Amman, Cairo and other strategic hubs. The latest figures, compiled from regional operational data on February 10 and 11, 2026, show that Cairo and Istanbul are once again at the center of mounting disruption that is testing passenger patience and straining airline operations.
Fresh Disruptions Hit Cairo, Istanbul and Regional Hubs
The latest operational snapshot from February 10 and 11 reveals a patchwork of delays and cancellations that collectively add up to a difficult travel picture for Egypt-bound and Egypt-originating routes. Data covering airports in the UAE, Egypt, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Israel points to at least 36 flight cancellations and more than 1,000 delays across the region in a single 24-hour reporting window, with Egypt one of the hardest-hit markets.
Cairo International Airport has reported hundreds of delays on successive days and at least one outright cancellation in the most recent period, while Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport has seen dozens of delayed departures and multiple cancellations affecting carriers such as Pegasus. This follows an earlier tally on February 10 indicating 16 cancellations and 1,370 delays across key Middle Eastern gateways, including Cairo and Istanbul, highlighting how persistent operational pressures have become.
Within this broader turmoil, point-to-point and connecting services that are crucial for travelers to and from Egypt have been especially vulnerable. Links between Egypt and major European and regional hubs such as Berlin, Istanbul, Amman, Dubai, Riyadh and Tel Aviv are experiencing rolling disruption, often with little advance warning for passengers already en route or in transit.
EasyJet and Pegasus Routes Under Strain
Two carriers in particular, EasyJet and Pegasus, stand out in the current context because of their growing footprint on routes that connect Egypt with Europe and neighboring Middle Eastern states. Both play a central role in budget-conscious travel into and out of Egypt, and both are now under pressure as they navigate congested airports, knock-on delays and selective cancellations.
EasyJet has been building its Egypt offering over recent seasons, operating flights from Berlin Brandenburg to Sphinx International Airport near Giza. According to the latest schedule information, its Berlin to Cairo-area service has recently seen multiple instances of disruption, with several February flights not operating on originally published days and earlier departures frequently delayed. That pattern, while not always resulting in full cancellations, illustrates how sensitive low-cost operations can be to upstream delays and airspace congestion.
Pegasus, based in Türkiye, has established itself as a key budget bridge between Egypt and Istanbul through services from Cairo and Giza’s Sphinx International Airport to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Published schedules as of early February confirm a robust roster of direct services, yet flight-tracking data and recent operational reports show that some departures have been significantly delayed and, in a subset of cases, canceled. That has left travelers relying on Pegasus for onward connections from Istanbul facing missed flights, unexpected overnights and a scramble to rebook.
Key Routes Affected: Berlin, Istanbul, Amman and Beyond
While the disruption spans multiple airports, several routes that are particularly important for inbound tourism and regional connectivity stand out for Egypt-focused travelers. Links between Egypt and Berlin, Istanbul and Amman illustrate how seemingly localized operational issues can ripple across traveler plans.
On the Egypt–Germany axis, Berlin’s connections to Cairo and Sphinx Airport have been served largely by low-cost and hybrid carriers such as EasyJet and AJet. Recent schedule data show a thinning of planned frequencies and instances where previously regular Berlin–Cairo flights are no longer operating on some days. Even when flights run, delays have become more frequent, with average on-time performance on some services deteriorating as winter and early-spring schedules progress.
The Egypt–Türkiye corridor is even more central. Direct links between Cairo or Giza and Istanbul are currently provided by Pegasus and a mix of other carriers, with additional options from Egyptian resort airports like Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. Price data and schedules updated in early February confirm strong demand and frequent departures, but also show a heightened risk of last-minute time changes. For passengers relying on Istanbul as a transfer point to Europe or Asia, disruptions on these Egypt–Istanbul legs can cascade into missed connections on entirely separate itineraries.
To the east, Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport is another crucial node. While Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines dominate some of the Amman–Istanbul and Amman–Cairo flows, Pegasus and other low-cost operators play a supporting role. The latest fare and schedule guides from early February underline that travelers can still find competitive non-stop options, but the backdrop of regional cancellations and delays means those flights are less predictable than their timetables suggest.
Cairo’s Central Role in a Regional Bottleneck
Cairo International is once again emerging as a bellwether of wider Middle Eastern aviation health. Over the last two days of reporting, Cairo has registered among the highest numbers of delayed departures in the region, alongside Dubai. EgyptAir, Air Cairo and other local carriers have borne the brunt of the disruption, but the impact radiates outward to foreign airlines like EasyJet and Pegasus, which rely on Cairo-area airports for their Egypt operations.
Delays at Cairo are especially problematic because of the airport’s function as a connecting hub. Passengers flying in from Europe and North Africa often rely on tight connections to domestic services serving Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, or to regional flights onward to Amman, Riyadh and beyond. When an inbound flight from Berlin or Istanbul arrives even an hour late, that can be enough for travelers to miss domestic connections, triggering a chain of rebookings, overnight stays and additional costs.
The operational data showing more than 200 delays and at least one cancellation at Cairo in a single recent period suggest that airlines are still grappling with congestion, staffing constraints and air traffic control bottlenecks. Although most flights are ultimately departing, the cumulative effect of late pushbacks and extended taxi times is a steady erosion of schedule reliability that is keenly felt by tourists, business travelers and Egyptians returning home.
Why So Many Flights Are Being Delayed or Canceled
While no single factor explains the current spike in delays and cancellations, industry observers point to a combination of structural and short-term causes. Across the Middle East, airlines have rapidly rebuilt and even expanded capacity compared with the pandemic years, adding new routes and frequencies as demand for leisure and pilgrimage travel has surged. That growth has often outpaced investments in infrastructure and staffing.
At airports such as Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, peak-time congestion can quickly overwhelm available runway slots and gate capacity. Any minor disruption, from a late-arriving aircraft to slowing security checks, cascades into subsequent departures. Low-cost carriers like EasyJet and Pegasus operate on tight turnarounds, meaning a short delay on the first flight of the day can still be affecting schedules many rotations later.
Seasonal weather patterns can exacerbate the problem, with winter fog, crosswinds or localized storms prompting air traffic control restrictions and temporary ground holds. Although most recent disruptions in Egypt and neighboring states have been attributed to operational and traffic-flow reasons rather than headline-grabbing crises, even routine safety measures can force airlines to trim schedules or cancel flights outright to reset operations.
What This Means for Travelers Headed To or From Egypt
For travelers with upcoming trips involving Egypt, Berlin, Istanbul or Amman, the latest disruption pattern is a clear signal to build more resilience into their plans. Same-day connections that once felt comfortable may now be risky, especially when they involve multiple separate bookings on low-cost carriers. A delay on an EasyJet or Pegasus leg into Cairo or Istanbul may not be protected on a separate long-haul ticket, leaving passengers stranded or forced to buy a new onward journey.
Travelers headed to the Red Sea coast or Upper Egypt via Cairo should consider planning longer layovers or booking through itineraries on a single ticket with one airline group, which typically offers more robust rebooking support in the event of missed connections. Those relying on Berlin–Cairo or Egypt–Istanbul services should monitor their flights closely in the 48 hours before departure and be prepared for time changes or aircraft substitutions.
Tour operators and corporate travel managers are also recalibrating. Some are steering clients toward flights with historically better on-time performance or through hubs that have experienced fewer cancellations in recent days. Others are advising travelers to avoid the very last departure of the day when possible, since cancellations used to restore schedules often target those late-night flights.
Practical Steps: How to Navigate the Current Disruptions
In the face of this unsettled landscape, there are concrete steps passengers can take to reduce stress and financial exposure. The first is to stay informed in real time. That means using airline apps and independent flight-tracking tools to keep an eye on departure status from Cairo, Berlin, Istanbul, Amman and any intermediate hubs. Given the pace of changes noted in the latest reports, checking only the day before travel is no longer enough.
Second, travelers should review their rights and protections before flying. For routes that originate in the European Union, such as flights from Berlin to Egypt or from EU airports to Istanbul with Pegasus, European air passenger regulations may entitle travelers to assistance or compensation in the event of long delays or cancellations, depending on the cause. While claiming compensation can be time-consuming, knowing the basic framework helps passengers negotiate more confidently with frontline staff.
Third, flexibility can be an asset. When booking new trips over the coming weeks, choosing fares that allow changes at a reasonable cost, or using carriers that maintain multiple daily frequencies on the same route, can make it easier to switch to an earlier or later departure if operational issues flare up. In the Egypt context, that might mean favoring airlines that operate several Cairo–Istanbul or Cairo–Gulf flights each day, rather than relying on a single, tightly timed departure.
Outlook: Cautious Optimism, But Expect Continued Volatility
Despite the headline numbers of delays and cancellations, most flights into and out of Egypt are still operating, and tourism flows to Cairo, Giza, Luxor and the Red Sea remain strong. Airlines continue to adjust crew rosters and aircraft rotations in an effort to stabilize schedules, while airports work to ease bottlenecks at security and immigration. There is cautious optimism among industry insiders that, barring major external shocks, punctuality should gradually improve as late-winter operations settle.
However, the concentration of disruptions over just a couple of days in February underscores how quickly stability can unravel in a region where airspace, weather and demand pressures intersect. For Egypt, whose connectivity to Europe and its neighbors depends heavily on efficient operations at Cairo, Sphinx and foreign hubs like Istanbul and Berlin, even a handful of cancellations or prolonged delays can have outsized effects on traveler confidence.
In the meantime, would-be visitors are advised not to abandon their plans but to approach them with heightened awareness. Building extra margin into itineraries, monitoring flights closely and understanding airline obligations will go a long way toward turning a potentially fraught journey into a manageable inconvenience. Egypt remains firmly open for travel, yet in the current environment, those who arrive feeling most relaxed are likely to be the ones who planned most carefully for disruption along the way.