Egyptair has officially
become the 21st member of Star Alliance, bringing with it 1,624 weekly flights to 69
destinations around the world.Egyptair is the nation’s flag carrier, and will strengthen the alliance’s network
throughout Africa and the Middle East.

The announcement at the Cairo International Airport marked the end of a nine-month
integration project in which the airline adapted its reservation, ticketing,
frequent flyer and other
customer-oriented programmes to work more closely with the infrastructure of the
other members of the alliance.

“Star Alliance was Egyptair’s choice of alliances mainly because it is the biggest,
strongest and most dynamic of the alliances, focusing on rendering high quality
services to passengers while
minimising costs - a concept that Egyptair wholeheartedly agrees with,” said Capt.
Tawfik Assy, CEO, Egyptair Holding Company. “Egyptair’s strategic regional location
will enable Cairo Airport to
become a major hub for the Star Alliance family and a gateway for the Middle East
and North Africa,” he said.

“With the addition of Egyptair to the alliance we have become the major alliance
serving Africa, with half of our members flying to the African continent,” said Jaan
Albrecht, CEO, Star Alliance.
“The economic and business climate of Africa is getting the world’s attention. Star
Alliance is well positioned to serve the business interests of the continent by
having Egyptair in the north, South
African Airways in the south, and nine other member airlines flying to Africa.”

As a major part of its increased role as a hub, the Cairo Airport Authority is
completing work on a new terminal. When Terminal 3 opens this fall, it will be a
dedicated Star Alliance terminal
serving passengers of seven Star Alliance members. The new terminal will have a
capacity to serve 11 million passengers annually
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