The Egypt International Airshow 2024 was held at El-Alamein Airport from 3rd to 5th September. With very little information published about what aircraft will be present at the show, and it being the inaugural event, it was a bit of a gamble travelling.

However, given the variety of aircraft in service with the Egyptian Military, it was a gamble worth taking, and as it turns out, it was a gamble that paid off. The three-day show consisted of a static aircraft display, a flying display and a large exhibition centre packed with defence contractors.

Day 1
On Day 1 of the show access to the airfield was restricted until after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had departed. Even though it was not possible to gain access to the airport until after the President had departed at around midday, we arrived early in the hope of catching a possible flypast. We were directed to the military side of the airfield, and while we were not airside, we still had a view over the runway & taxiway.

Once he had opened the show and visited the exhibition halls, a flying display was held before he departed and the airport was opened for visitors. While the flying display was short, the Egyptian Silver Stars, French Rafale, Saudi Eurofighter, Chinese Y-20 and UAE Mirage 2000 all performed.

Catching the Xian Y-20 flying was a nice treat as this aircraft rarely performs a flying display outside of China. At the end of Day 1, the Y-20 was towed to the static display (where it remained for the duration of the show), and it was parked next to the Qatar Airways C-17, offering a nice contrast between the types.

Once the President departed, we then headed for the show site where we were free to walk around the static display with no restrictions and with little to no barriers, so it was possible to take nice photographs of most of the aircraft on static display.

J-10s from the PLAAF BaYi (August 1st) display team, along with Hawks from the Saudi Hawks display team, were temporarily added to the static display on Day 1 only, so that was a nice treat.

Days 2 & 3
The Egyptian Air Force does not usually attend air shows, and as a result has no display pilots, meaning the only Egyptian aircraft flying in the display were the Karakorum K-8 jet trainers of the Silver Stars. However, every day we were treated to multiple Egyptian Hercules and C295 movements, along with the occasional arrival and departure of VIP jets ranging from Gulfstreams up to an A340.

The Egyptian aircraft on static display were many and varied, including an F-16, Mirage 2000, Rafale DM, a pair of MiG-29Ms and a pair of Beech 1900s. Egyptian helicopters included a Ka-52E, an AW149 and a Mi-17.

The event was also boosted by aircraft in the static and flying displays from Czechia, China, India, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the UAE, and the USA.

Of all the nations present, after Egypt, the UAE had quite a large collection of aircraft present, with an A330 MRTT, AEW&C Saab GlobalEye, C-17, C295, F-16E, Mirage 2000 and IOMAX Archangel on static display, along with an F-16E and Mirage 2000 in the flying display.

There were many opportunities over the two main show days to take photographs of the visiting aircraft arriving & departing, along with the aircraft on static display. Photographing the flying display was challenging as the aircraft were backlit, but it was nice to see none the less.

It was very hot on the ramp all day, so most photographers could be found clustered in the shadow of the various aircraft, with the C-17s and Y-20 being particular favourites. A strong afternoon breeze also helped to make things more bearable.

One last treat at the end of Day 3 was the departure of the USAF F-15E Strike Eagle, and more importantly, a USAF A-10 Warthog, and being able to get up close and personal with them. A few last photos were taken of some of the aircraft that were being towed from the static display.

Final Impressions
The Egypt International Airshow 2024 provided a fantastic opportunity to see and photograph aircraft that are rarely seem outside of their home countries, namely all the Egyptian military aircraft, along with the Chinese J-10 & Y-20, Indian Dhruvs and the Saudi Hawks flying some of their last displays with their old Hawk Mk.65As jets before switching to the new, Saudi built, Hawk Mk.165s.

It was very hot, and hard work at times given the vast size of the ramp, but the inaugural edition of the Egypt International Airshow was well worth attending, future editions can only get better.