Air travel in and out of Egypt and the wider Eastern Mediterranean is facing fresh turbulence as multiple airlines, including EasyJet and Pegasus, have pulled more than ten flights from schedules, disrupting key routes that connect Berlin, Istanbul, Amman, Cairo and other major cities. The latest wave of cancellations comes amid a broader pattern of delays and suspensions affecting hubs across Egypt, Jordan, Türkiye and the Gulf, leaving passengers grappling with last minute changes, missed connections and extended layovers.
What Is Happening to Flights Serving Egypt and the Region
On February 11, 2026, regional aviation data showed a spike in operational disruption across the Middle East, with dozens of cancellations and more than a thousand delays centered on airports in Dubai, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Riyadh, Kuwait City and Istanbul. Egypt sits at the heart of this network, and even a modest cut in frequencies can reverberate across Europe to Middle East itineraries that rely on one stop connections through these hubs. Flights into Cairo and other Egyptian gateways are once again feeling the strain as airlines juggle safety assessments, crew constraints and complex routings around sensitive airspace.
EasyJet, which operates a Berlin to Cairo service via Sphinx International Airport, has seen that route repeatedly affected in recent weeks. The flight has been absent from some daily schedules after a run of delayed operations, a pattern closely watched by German and Egyptian travelers who rely on low cost carriers to keep city pair fares affordable. While each individual cancellation may look minor in isolation, together they contribute to shrinking options on a route that already operates only a handful of times per week.
Pegasus, the Turkish low cost carrier with a large operation at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport, has also been at the center of recent disruption. In earlier phases of the current regional tensions, the airline temporarily scrapped flights to Jordan and other neighboring states, and travelers transiting Istanbul have reported substantial delays, misconnected itineraries and long, unscheduled layovers. For passengers heading to or from Egypt, Istanbul often functions as a key one stop bridge, so any cutbacks or timing changes in Pegasus services ripple directly into Egyptian tourism and business travel flows.
Key Routes Affected: Berlin, Istanbul, Amman, Cairo and Beyond
The Berlin to Cairo corridor has emerged as one of the clearest illustrations of the current instability. EasyJet’s link from Berlin Brandenburg to Sphinx International, serving the greater Cairo area, has not appeared on some scheduled operating days after a string of delayed rotations, prompting concern among travelers who had booked months in advance. Competing carriers and indirect options remain available between the two capitals, but the loss or downgrading of a popular low cost link inevitably pushes some passengers into more expensive or less convenient alternatives.
In Istanbul, one of the region’s essential transit hubs, delays and cancellations have hit both full service and low cost airlines. Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Pegasus’s home base on the Asian side of the city, has recently registered notable spikes in late departures and a handful of cancellations, coinciding with a broader wave of disruption across Middle Eastern airports. For travelers connecting between Europe and Egypt, Istanbul is often the most practical and affordable one stop routing, particularly on Pegasus, so schedule changes there show up almost immediately in altered arrival times into Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh or Hurghada.
Amman has likewise felt the shock of shifting risk assessments and airspace bulletins. Over the past year, several international airlines have periodically suspended or curtailed flights to Jordan, citing heightened regional instability and evolving safety guidance for specific flight corridors. Low cost operators such as Pegasus have at times extended these suspensions through key travel periods, temporarily severing budget friendly links between Amman and Turkish or European gateways. While many of these suspensions have been framed as temporary, the on and off pattern has made medium term travel planning more difficult for anyone using Amman as a bridge into Egypt or onward to the Gulf.
Why Airlines Are Cutting or Delaying Services
The current patchwork of cancellations and heavy delays around Egypt and its neighbors is not the result of a single incident, but rather the cumulative effect of several factors. Chief among them are changing assessments of regional security, especially in crowded airspace corridors over the Eastern Mediterranean, the Levant and parts of the Gulf. Aviation regulators have issued advisories that, in practical terms, push airlines to avoid certain flight levels or routes. This often forces carriers to accept longer flight paths, add fuel stops, or reschedule departures to daylight hours, all of which compress operating margins.
Operational challenges follow close behind. Airlines running tight low cost models, such as EasyJet and Pegasus, typically rely on high aircraft utilization and minimal turnaround times. When flights must be rerouted around sensitive areas or held on the ground pending updated clearances, that efficiency crumbles quickly. A single delayed inbound flight to Cairo or Istanbul can cascade into missed departure slots, missed connections and ultimately route wide disruptions if crews go out of duty time or if the aircraft is no longer in the right place at the right moment for subsequent sectors.
Economic considerations add another layer. When demand becomes unpredictable or when a route faces repeated delays and forced detours, some airlines opt to temporarily consolidate or suspend individual frequencies, particularly on leisure oriented city pairs with highly price sensitive customers. In the case of Berlin to Cairo or secondary routes into Egypt, cutting a few weekly flights may be seen by management as a way to contain costs and preserve reliability elsewhere in the network, even if it leaves certain origin and destination markets with sharply reduced capacity.
Impact on Travelers Heading To and From Egypt
For travelers, the most immediate impact of this latest wave of cancellations is uncertainty. Passengers flying between Europe and Egypt, or connecting through Cairo, Amman or Istanbul on their way to the Gulf and beyond, are increasingly likely to encounter last minute time changes, longer than expected layovers and, in some cases, outright cancellations only hours before departure. The loss of more than ten flights across key regional routes within a short window may not sound dramatic in global terms, but for those booked on specific low frequency services, it can mean an entire travel day lost.
Budget travelers are particularly exposed. With EasyJet and Pegasus both adjusting parts of their regional programs, the number of low cost seats into Egypt and neighboring countries can tighten quickly. This reduces flexibility for those hoping to rebook at short notice, since remaining alternatives are often on full service carriers at significantly higher fares. Some passengers have reported needing to reconfigure itineraries entirely, routing through different hubs or shifting dates in order to secure acceptable replacement flights.
On the ground, the strain is evident at airport service desks and call centers. Travelers who experience cancellations from non European hubs often find that their rights and options depend heavily on where their journey originated, which carrier operated which leg, and what jurisdiction governs the ticket. Those who began their trip in the European Union, with an EU carrier such as EasyJet, may benefit from stronger compensation rules for cancellations or long delays. Others, flying intra regional legs with low cost carriers, sometimes encounter more limited assistance, especially when large numbers of passengers are seeking hotel rooms, meal vouchers and rerouting at the same time.
How Airlines Are Responding on Major Affected Carriers
EasyJet has spent much of the last two years juggling its Middle East footprint, including an extended suspension of flights to Israel and a phased return tied to evolving security conditions. While the airline has continued to promote its broader schedule for spring 2026 across Europe and the Mediterranean, individual routes into the region, such as Berlin to Cairo, remain vulnerable to further tactical adjustments. The company typically offers rebooking or refunds when it cancels flights, but the lack of alternative services on the same city pair can still leave customers without a convenient same day substitute.
Pegasus, meanwhile, has leveraged its Istanbul base to maintain connectivity even as it temporarily suspends specific routes, including past suspensions to Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon during periods of heightened tension. The airline’s regional strategy relies on funneling traffic through Sabiha Gökçen to a broad mix of European and Middle Eastern destinations, which makes any disruption there especially impactful for multi leg itineraries. Recent traveler accounts describe overnight delays and difficulties reaching customer support in time to secure hotels or clarify entitlements, highlighting the pressure that operational volatility places on service infrastructure.
Legacy carriers and national airlines are not immune. Egyptian operators such as EgyptAir, as well as Gulf and Levantine carriers serving Cairo and other Egyptian gateways, have also recorded spikes in delays and occasional cancellations as they adapt to shifting routings and congested airspace. However, their larger fleets and more diversified networks can sometimes offer more options for same day reaccommodation compared with smaller low cost competitors. The challenge for all carriers is to balance safety, regulatory compliance and financial sustainability while still providing a predictable product for passengers.
Practical Advice for Passengers Traveling Through Egypt and Nearby Hubs
Anyone planning to travel to, from or via Egypt in the coming weeks should approach trip planning with additional caution. Booking non stop flights where possible, or favoring itineraries with longer legal connection times at key hubs such as Istanbul or Amman, can provide a buffer against knock on delays. While longer layovers are rarely appealing, in the current environment a spare hour or two may spell the difference between a smooth connection and an unexpected overnight stay.
Travelers should also monitor their bookings proactively rather than relying solely on day of departure notifications. Flight status tools and airline apps often show schedule adjustments before formal cancellation emails are sent, giving passengers a valuable head start when rebooking options are still relatively open. For complex itineraries that combine low cost and full service tickets, it is particularly important to keep close track of the first leg, since a delay on an early sector may not trigger automatic protection on a separately booked onward flight.
Travel insurance with robust disruption coverage is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity for trips into the region. Policies that cover missed connections, additional accommodation and alternative transport can mitigate the financial sting of a last minute airline schedule change, particularly when the carrier’s own obligations are limited or disputed. Passengers should scrutinize policy wording carefully to ensure that cancellations linked to security advisories or regional instability are not excluded.
What This Means for Egypt’s Tourism and Business Travel Outlook
The timing of these disruptions is awkward for Egypt, which has been working to sustain and grow inbound tourism following a gradual recovery from the pandemic era slump. Cairo International Airport has been registering healthy year on year increases in passenger numbers and flight movements, supported by renewed interest in cultural travel and a rebound in regional business activity. Intermittent spikes in delays and cancellations, particularly on key feeder routes from Europe and nearby Middle Eastern capitals, threaten to temper that momentum if they persist into the main spring and early summer season.
Tour operators and corporate travel planners are already factoring the new volatility into their decision making. Some are favoring itineraries that concentrate arrivals and departures through the most resilient hubs and carriers, rather than stitching together multiple low cost connections that might be vulnerable to last minute cuts. Others are advising clients to arrive in Egypt a day earlier than strictly necessary before cruises, conferences or major events, to reduce the risk that a cancellation on a Berlin, Istanbul or Amman sector will jeopardize the entire trip.
In the longer term, the current turbulence may accelerate a shift toward greater diversification of access points into Egypt. As airlines and travelers alike reassess reliance on any single hub or carrier, secondary airports and alternative routings could gain importance, particularly for visitors from Central and Eastern Europe. Yet for the moment, the reality on the ground is that Cairo, Istanbul, Amman and other established gateways remain the primary arteries, and their smooth functioning is critical to Egypt’s connectivity with the wider world.
Looking Ahead: How Long Might Disruptions Last
Industry analysts caution that the latest wave of cancellations and delays affecting Egypt and its neighbors is unlikely to resolve overnight. Current European safety advisories governing parts of the Middle Eastern airspace remain in effect into mid February 2026, and several airlines have privately indicated that route and schedule adjustments could extend well into the spring if conditions do not stabilize. Even if formal suspensions are lifted, airlines may take a cautious approach in rebuilding full capacity, particularly on routes that serve primarily leisure demand.
For now, passengers should brace for a period of elevated unpredictability on travel corridors linking Europe with Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Gulf states. EasyJet, Pegasus and other carriers are likely to continue fine tuning their networks as operational realities evolve, which means that more short notice changes are possible on services touching Berlin, Istanbul, Amman and Cairo. Those planning trips would do well to book with awareness of these risks, build flexibility into their itineraries and stay closely engaged with airline communications in the days leading up to departure.
Despite the challenges, Egypt remains open and accessible, with multiple carriers still operating into its major airports every day. Travelers willing to plan carefully, allow extra time and stay informed can still complete their journeys successfully. Yet the message from the latest cancellations is clear: in this region, for the foreseeable future, air travel plans should be treated as provisional rather than guaranteed, and caution is a traveler’s most reliable ally.