Route Analysis: Cairo-Stockholm

Egyptian carrier Nile Air is adding a new European route to its network during the summer 2022 season with the launch of operations to Sweden’s capital Stockholm.

The airline plans to connect Cairo International (CAI) with Stockholm Arlanda (ARN) twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting on June 18 through Oct. 29. Flights will use Airbus A320 aircraft, providing 720 two-way weekly seats between the cities.

As well as catering for point-to-point demand, the service will enable connections to other destinations in Egypt served by Nile Air, including Sharm El Sheik, Hurghada, Luxor and Aswan. It will also allow onward international travel from Cairo to points in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Sudan.

Nile Air will become the first carrier to offer nonstop scheduled flights between Cairo and Stockholm since May 2014. According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, Ethiopian Airlines previously offered a route from its Addis Ababa (ADD) hub to Stockholm Arlanda via Cairo.

However, since Ethiopian Airlines suspended the service, Cairo-Stockholm has remained unserved. In recent years, the only Egypt-Sweden city pairs to receive direct flights have been Hurghada-Gothenburg, Hurghada-Stockholm, and Marsa Alam-Stockholm.

The latest OAG data shows that Sunclass Airlines currently offers a 1X-weekly service between Hurghada (HRG) and Stockholm Arlanda but the winter season route will end on March 23. Nova Airlines also operates once a week on the same sector, with its schedule in place until April 19. Nile Air will therefore become the sole carrier serving Egypt-Sweden nonstop once it begins CAI-ARN.

O&D traffic between Cairo and Stockholm reached 24,600 two-way passengers in 2019—all of which was indirect. Sabre Market Intelligence figures reveal that Istanbul (IST), Vienna (VIE) and Frankfurt (FRA) were the top one-stop markets. The wider Egypt-Sweden had O&D traffic of about 48,000 two-way passengers during the same year.

Nile Air launched operations in March 2011 and operates a fleet of three A320s and two A321s. Stockholm will become the carrier’s fourth destination in Europe this summer in addition to Dusseldorf (DUS), Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG).

CAI-ARN