Cairo

The big-ticket item is genuinely free: EgyptAir covers a 1-night stay at a 3-star hotel in Cairo. But "free" has edges worth knowing: you still typically pay for meals beyond anything included, any city or tourist tax, and a transit-visa fee if your passport needs one. Compare the total fare too: adding a stopover doesn't always cost the same as a plain connection.

Passengers flying EgyptAir on a ticket issued by the airline, with a qualifying layover in CAI between 8 and 24 hours. Eligible booking classes: Economy, Business. Free hotel, meals and airport transport for international-to-international connections through Cairo, up to a 24-hour layover. Minimum connection is 6 hours for Business and economy Y/B fares, 8 hours for other economy fares. Only 'last flight in / first flight out' connections qualify; two separate tickets and discounted fares of 50%+ are excluded; codeshares qualify only if EgyptAir operates the arriving flight. A separate free 8-96 hour transit visa is issued at the EgyptAir transit office for visa-on-arrival-eligible nationalities. A confirmed hotel does not guarantee entry to Egypt.

Your connection in CAI should fall between 8 and 24 hours. Two things travelers get caught by: flight-search sites usually show the shortest connection by default, and that's often too short to qualify. You may need to deliberately pick a longer-layover flight. And the layover shown isn't all usable: clearing immigration and any baggage steps eats into it, so give yourself comfortable margin above the 8-hour minimum.

Stopover programs are run by the airline, so the safest route is a ticket booked directly with EgyptAir on an eligible fare. Award and miles tickets, and bookings made through online travel agencies or other third-party sites, often follow different rules: sometimes they don't qualify, sometimes the stopover has to be arranged another way. Before booking like that, confirm directly with EgyptAir that your specific ticket type is eligible.

To leave the airport for your stopover you must meet Egypt's transit or entry rules, and this matters before you even fly: if your passport requires a transit visa and you don't have one, the airline can deny boarding. The good news: many nationalities get visa-free transit, visa-on-arrival, or a quick e-visa, and some stopover programs include the transit visa. Select your nationality on this page to see the exact requirement for Egypt, and arrange any visa well before departure.

Airlines do sometimes adjust schedules after you book. A change can shorten or lengthen your layover. If it drops the connection below the 8-hour minimum, or past the maximum, it can affect your eligibility. If you get a schedule-change notice, re-check your layover against the program's window and contact EgyptAir to rebook or re-confirm the stopover. It's worth re-checking your itinerary a few days before departure.

On a single EgyptAir ticket, your checked bags are normally tagged straight through to your final destination, so you head into Cairo with just your carry-on, and your luggage continues on the onward flight. You'd only collect and re-check bags if part of your trip is on a separate ticket. If you'd like a checked bag with you for the overnight stay, ask EgyptAir when you arrange the stopover.

On arrival at Cairo, go to the EgyptAir transfer/transit desk in the immigration hall and request transit accommodation (subject to room availability). To leave the airport, collect the free 8-96 hour transit visa at the EgyptAir transit office. You can pre-check eligibility by emailing stationcallcenter@egyptair.com.

Up to 1 days. You can extend your layover without paying additional airfare, as long as it fits within the program's rules.