At a ceremony in Cairo today, Egyptair officially became 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.