Ben Schlappig, ‘Lucky’ at One Mile at a Time, has gone viral in Egypt for his criticisms of the Cairo airport – and has elicited a public attacks and threats from that government’s minister in charge of the airport.
Lucky described poorly organized queues, incessant requests for tipping, and disinterested staff and facilities that are overall not very nice from the physical plant to food and beverage options.
In response, Egypt’s Minister of Civil Aviation ordered thorough review of video surveillance of blogger Ben Schlappig’s journey through the Cairo airport, so that they could publish a blow-by-blow and try to refute his
- He “arrived at Terminal 2 of Cairo International Airport on November 10, 2024, on ITA Airways flight No. AZ896 from Rome, landing at 16:50. The time from his arrival until his departure from the terminal was approximately 18 minutes”
- “Afterward, the passenger proceeded to the Le Méridien Hotel, where he stayed for about five hours.”
- “[T]he passenger returned to Terminal 3 at Cairo International Airport for his onward journey. He was booked on Ethiopian Airlines flight No. ET453 to Addis Ababa, which departed at 2:50 am on November 11. His experience at the first checkpoint took approximately one minute. He then proceeded to the airline counter to complete his travel procedures, which took around 8 minutes.”
- The passenger then proceeded to the passport control counter, which took just one minute…”
- “[T]he passenger did not have any luggage, only a handbag and a small backpack. This contradicts his claims of being harassed by airport staff requesting a tip for helping carry his bags.” (No, it doesn’t.)
- “The passenger then visited two lounges in the departure hall. First, he went to Lounge 2, and later to Lounge E, where he had a drink, used his laptop, and stayed for about an hour. Afterward, he moved to Lounge G, where he had dinner and spent approximately 30 minutes.” And the government concludes – with the editorializing being quite unintentionally funny,
This indicates that the majority of his waiting time at the airport was spent enjoying the services offered by these lounges, which are known for their high quality.
This raises the question: Is it reasonable for a passenger to visit two lounges before a single flight?
- My favorite: “[B]efore leaving Lounge G, the passenger used the lounge’s bathroom without any reported issues or harassment from staff.” Also, “the photo of the bathroom he posted does not correspond to the bathroom he used at Lounge G.”
- The government also says Ben complaining about staff soliciting tips is impossible, because there’s “clear “NO TIPS” signage throughout the airport” and because he did not complain to the airport about this during his visit. Also, the airport couldn’t possibly have smelled of smoke because it has “designated smoking areas,” which I guess of course everybody observes there?
The Egyptian government threw shade at Ben for spending “approximately 30 minutes standing at the gate entrance,” and “stand[ing] for another 30 minutes by a window, taking pictures with his mobile phone of various scenes in the terminal.” What else is he supposed to do at the Cairo airport exactly, spend more time at their world’s top 10 lounges? And he’s a blogger picking up photos for possible later use.
Clearly, the reason Ben connected in Cairo was to slander the airport!
[T]he passenger’s brief visit to Egypt, lasting less than five hours, was not for tourism or any official purpose, but rather appeared to be aimed at undermining Cairo Airport, the ministry continued.
In fact, he flew to Cairo to start a trip, because it’s one of the cheapest places in the world to start a ticket from. Yet, they say, Ben’s overall claims are impossible because the airport has ‘nearly’ (cough) a 4-star rating from the rather silly SkyTrax, and because that group rates it “among the top 10 airports in Africa.”
Finally, they’re threatening to “take all necessary legal action against those who attempt to harm the credibility and reputation of the civil aviation sector through unfounded allegations.”
The Egyptian minister attempts to distinguish the airport from the airport experience pointing out at issues checking in or in a lounge (tip requests) are private not government. But Ben’s point wasn’t about apportioning blame – though the ministry is in charge of policies and behaviors within the airport! – it was about describing the passenger experience traveling through the Cairo airport.
Ultimately, though, Egypt’s argument is that Ben didn’t spend a lot of time in the country on this visit and private employees not following airport rules shouldn’t be held against the airport? When in fact the minister is just describing the problem, which is the gap between de facto and de jure; that rules aren’t followed in Cairo and it degrades the experience.
Would anyone choose to connect in Cairo over generally disliked airports in Europe like London Heathrow or Paris Charles de Gaulle?
Would anyone choose Cairo over Casablanca even? And while Cairo is in Africa, it’s geographically closer to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha than to Johannesburg – or even Nairobi. So it’s damning itself with faint praise. And the stuff about commenting on his bathroom time? I can’t even. I’ve actually lost my ability to even.
Also: Ben’s assessment are the result of his several trips to/from/through CAI over the years. Not just this latest one.
And, yes, from a personal experience: this airport is awful.
This is beyond amazing. It’s not like his blog is The New York Times. Does the Egyptian government just casually read frequent flyer blogs? I wonder if someone internally in Egypt found the article and was using it to criticize the government. That would explain the response.
“Sclappig” is not how Ben spells his name 🙂
I suspect they know he’s right, but they aren’t going to admit it or do anything about the situation. While silence might be the simplest solution since it doesn’t keep the matter going, denial is the easiest form of rebuttal. And they threw in vague threats in case anyone wants to follow up and see if he was accurate. Anyway it makes good local press to go after “the foreigner criticizing the nation”. That also puts the matter on the person who complains, and not on the complaints themselves. It’s an old, old trick that still work.
As an actual free speech absolutist, I welcome whatever expression, including the truth, hot takes, hyperbolic embellishments, outright lies, misinformation, satire, etc.
Yet, the wealthy and powerful everywhere (not just Cairo or the US) seem to love censorship and/or algorithmically boosting their own speech over all else.
Anyways. Money is speech. Corporations are people.
I haven’t been to CAI in over ten years. Not too memorable, but the lavatory attendants were super attentive in pumping soap and handing tissues and towels, and the porters at the long check-in line immediately dragged my bags to cut to the front of the line for which I gave a small cash tip.. Unless it drastically has improved, I would manage my time and possessions in CAI as I would in any second-rate third-world airport. I feel badly for Lucky (I think he blocked me, but, whatever) as much as I would any passenger subject to surveillance, false light, invasion of privacy and harrassment without recourse to any status upgrades nor compensatory frequent flyer points whatsoever.
The amount of video surveillance is incredible. I mean, maybe not incredible in the sense that it is surprising as Egypt is a military dictatorship. But incredible in that (1) it works and (2) they had the capability to find him. Can you imagine how much time some state security bureaucrat had to spend pulling the video?
@Daniel B – thanks for flagging my typo, it has been fixed
I go in toilet stalls with lockable doors these days to keep from being distracted by attendants or even other people when I do my business. The worst was in clubs in Tijuana where attendants would put a warm damp cloth on my neck. It would cause me to lock up from a fight or flight reaction. I hate people milling around behind me in such situations.
@Gary: His forced stops at oficial checkpoints seem very quick, a crucial part of the airport experience.
“Lucky described poorly organized queues…”
Not the ones he stood in.
“incessant requests for tipping,…”
Unproven.
“… disinterested staff and facilities that are overall not very nice from the physical plant to food and beverage options.”
Has he been to La Guardia, or ORD?
He gets paid from clicks. This sounds like the typical entitled blogger’s piece put together from lies and based on an assumption that it will never get fact-checked.
Oops, the airport did fact check and Schlappig has no clothes!
Bloggers face higher standards of proof nowadys.
As I said in his two articles…this is about “saving face” which is common in the Arabic world (and elsewhere, but in my travels, they’re the most prevalent at doing it)…you can’t admit fault, or else you “lose face.”
And this entire argument about “spreading false information” from the Egyptian aviation authorities is hysterical since they’ve been doing that for nearly three decades since the relief captain MURDERED the crew and pax on EgyptAir 990.
I do think there is an argument that Ben’s expectations for Cairo’s airport are unrealistic. Everyone knows it isn’t a 5-star, world-class airport. And everyone knows that staff ask for bribes (tips). But is the airport objectively any worse than other comparables? I still believe, as I’ve said, that someone domestically must have found the article and started using for domestic political purposes because I highly doubt the Egyptian government is reading frequent flyer blogs.
@FNT Delta Diamond – I assure you that most US airports have cameras and the police of FBI can follow anyone they want through the airport. Not sure why you are surprised and it doesn’t have to be a military dictatorship.
For you free speech advocates- this isn’t the US. There are countries where negative reviews can land you in jail. I don’t agree but those are their laws and you have to abide by them. A criminal charge could be issued against Ben. Granted the US government wouldn’t extradite him but, if I were him, I sure wouldn’t connect in Cairo again.
This is what Lucky gets for being a JetBlue pimp. But, really, what do you expect from a bunch of Snackbars who still think it’s 1099 and everyone of European ancestry is on the First Crusade?
Yeah, when they actually threaten him with legal problems, it’s a good idea not to return. Recall that Egypt jailed a son of former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood who was merely working in Egypt. Even though Sam LaHood was well connected, it took months to get him home.
“… among the top 10 in Africa”. That’s pretty weak.
I’ve been to that airport several times in the last 6 months. I seriously doubt the “facts” listed by the Govt official. Ben’s account is EXACTLY my experience. Multiple times. The security screening line BEFORE checkin is always a mess. My last trip it took maybe an hour? THEN the immigration line was worse with only a handful of agents moving VERY slow including while talking on their mobile phones. At every turn on arrival there are MANY people trying to help you with your bags and even when you say “no”you find another group of handlers at the X-ray machine basically blocking it and putting your bag on the conveyor belt then saying TIP? For those that are questioning Ben’s accuracy I am curious as to have YOU been to the airport in the last 6 months?
Ben is pretty clear he doesn’t intend to travel through Cairo again.
Most people here seem to have a good grasp on reality, but user “L3” is completely out of touch. Been reading Ben for well over a decade, he has to be one of the least entitled bloggers out there for how big his blog is.
GTFO that he should have to prove to anyone that he was incessessantly harrassed for tips. In fact the wide consensus is that it’s the norm at the airport.
@jw: LaHood’s son wasn’t just “working” in Egypt. He was working for a US government-funded organization that was training and funding opposition political parties to win an election and topple the regime.
@AC: One of the good things Obama did was to sign a 2010 law that protects Americans from foreign courts. Until then, assorted bad actors were essentially engaged in judicial tourism, bringing charges or civil suits for defamation in countries without the protections afforded by the First Amendment.
I troubleshoot travel problems for thousands of travelers every year. Our travelers do mostly international travel, with a heavy focus on Africa. The Cairo airport, in my experience, is a top 5 worst airport based purely upon the rudeness of staff, their lack of knowledge, their wrongfully-denying boarding, their refusal to assist during irregular operations, etc. In fact, while resolving an issue the airport refused to, while speaking with an airline’s travel agent support desk, I mentioned the bad experience our customers had. The agent said, “Yes, I consistently get complaints about our staff at the Cairo Airport. I’m very sorry.”
It’s an Egyptian cultural problem or perhaps some sort of union/mafia problem by this Transport Minister because there are multiple airlines with rude and incompetent staff at the Cairo airport (which is why I am not naming this particular airline) in my experience.
Ben is absolutely correct.
(I’m remaining anonymous so that this corrupt Transport Minister doesn’t try to retaliate against me and my agency too.)
@FNT Delta Diamond – Not sure how any US President can protect Americans from foreign courts. There are many cases of Americans currently serving time in foreign jails or awaiting trial (and unable to leave the country). Some are serious crimes (e.g., drug dealing) but quite a few are things that are either not a crime in the US or clearly political. Also, there is no way the First Amendment protects Americans abroad. It doesn’t even protect Americans in the US except (as the constitution intended) against government action due to speech (although some speech is clearly still a punishable offense). Trust me if Egypt filed charges against Ben they could hold him if he was found in the country. Yes he may get out of it eventually but it would take diplomatic efforts to secure his release.
@AC: Well said. Incompletely agreed with what you said above. If I were Ben, I would not travel to Egypt or connect in Cairo for a long time (or ever again). In some countries, people do not have freedom of speech.
What a shame. Egypt was on my bucket list. Sounds like I would have hated my visit, so thanks for saving me the misery, minister owngoal.
There are many countries where you shouldn’t say anything about the government, government officials, rich people, not so rich people, the infrastructure, companies, etc. It isn’t only that way in some highly restrictive countries like the USSR was. Of course you might meet some Europeans with their media made opinions of the USA and no true knowledge of the country, like I have many times. Ben of OMAAT should also not go through countries who would extradite him to Egypt. Some might have been offended before about something he said or they may look to curry favor or there may be some secret agreements.
One should remember when you travel to certain countries customs and government control/influence is very different. Doesn’t mean you agree with it. Bloggers in general (of the You Tube kind) have become problematic for airlines and airports. Personally I have no idea why someone would want to watch these “trip reports.” To me they’re of little value.
Egypt is a marvelous country, and Cairo is one of my favorite cities in the world. But it is a poor country by world standards. As a result many Egyptians let their entrepreneurial skills take over and provide whatever services they can to tourists, to make the tourists’ visits more enjoyable. Its not a big deal, anyone who can afford to travel can afford a few USD in tips.
As someone pointed out earlier, should the Egyptian government choose to screw with Ben they can cause him quite a bit of harm by issuing a bogus Interpol warrant for his arrest. Anytime he passes through a non-western country he runs the risk of being arrested with the intent of extortion…pay an “expedited” judicial review fee” or you are locked up while we sort out this outstanding warrant issue.
Sound far fetched? The Russians and some other regimes have been doing it to their dissidents (and anyone else that has pissed them off) for decades.
Personally I think bloggers, reviewers, influencers and the like all deserve some push back. Of course, don’t censor them. But make it clear that there will be aggressive responses if you cross the line of being the rich white American who comes in and decides to hijack their culture and narrative….like it or not. CAI is mediocre at best. But it offers value for premium flights. Ben used it for just that. Why then cr@p on it?
Seems like less judgment and more fairness as to different places is called for.
I have been at CAI too much this year. The passport control lines and the visa on arrival payment process can be chaotic to enter the country, but it’s not all that bad on the way out of the country at CAI. Airside F&B venues are basic and inefficient and the landside ones are worse. There are some touts, but it’s better than what I deal with at Indian airports. The check-in process is slow to fly out of CAI, but it could be much worse.
AC seems to not understand that the Biden Admin can easily put pressure on the Egyptian dictator to get the Aviation minister to back off blacklisting or otherwise harassing OMAAT and other American travel bloggers. The incoming Trump Admin can do the same. The Egyptian general Sissi is hooked to foreign governments’ money — particularly ours and the Saudis’ money.
Last went thru Cairo airport just a few years ago. It’s certainly not Dubai but I found some of the rantings a bit like a child stamping his privileged foot.
My first time thru CAI, I had a bathroom attendant follow me out and ask for MORE money. Then brought a friend to ask for money. I said no and they went away. This last trip we were in multiple lounges and not one person asked for a tip. And nobody asked gor a tip AT ALL in any of the domestic Egyptian airports we went through.
They are loud and get a bit nasty if you challenge them. More so if you are female, like me. I ended up in a screaming match with one over my lithium batteries in carry on. He lost the match when I called in managers and pulled out airline regs. Some will fall all over themselves to help, others are officious, same that you find at any airline counter in the US
Wow, they looked at his passport for 2 whole minutes. The HORROR. I will spare you the time it took for me to clear Israeli customs, even as a US citizen.
As for smoke, I smoke and all the smoking lounges were gone when I went thru, you had to go outside. Maybe they have put them back in. But it’s their culture to smoke and I saw a number of officials smoking in non smoking areas. They smoke in back rooms. Get over it.
As for the lines, yes, it’s like some 3rd world countries I visit, everyone crowds the gate. Hope he never flies domestically in Indonesia because it’s like a locust free for all.
Frankly I quit reading OMAAT because of these kinds of reviews. They are too much the rantings of a privileged first world country entitlement used to flying FC and everything should be his way. You take many international airports especially in less than first world as you find them and learn to deal.
Heck, my WORST experiences lately was trying to board Emirates both at JFK and in Dubai, even flying BC.
Whether I’m in Cai or DXB or DPS, I realize their way of doing things isn’t necessarily my way of doing things. Frankly, feel the same way about JFK.
Ben, perhaps unintentionally, struck a sensitive chord in his report by drawing a comparison between CAI and ADD. The political rivalry between the two countries is at its peak these days.
Furthermore, Ben’s report was initially picked up by an Egyptian opposition journalist broadcasting from outside the country. This journalist openly challenged the government-backed media and the Minister of Aviation, who oversees CAI, to respond to his assertions.
My daughter and I visited Cairo at the beginning of October. We arrived days earlier from Istanbul very early in the morning (3am or so). Perhaps due to the time of day, we didn’t experience any issues and our hired driver was RIGHT there waiting.
HOWEVER….leaving Cairo and heading home….OMG. I consider myself an experienced traveler (Million Miler on American, Lifetime status at Marriott, & have visited 6 continents and 40 contries) and I can unequivically say I have NEVER been as close to tears as I was at that airport. Ever….even one time when 10 of us were running to make a connection for the last flight of the night and American closed the door while we were all running up so we had to stay over night at a hotel.
From the non-stop begging for tips from every man we walked past (“hey brown suga, you’re beautiful. Tip please?”…no joke) to dragging random people to the front of the line (which I did NOT allow as it was clear the people doing it did NOT work for the airport). Had I allowed it, 7 people would have been placed in front of me when I was just 2 people back from the detector.
Then at 2 different checkpoints, 2 different women kept incessently tapping me on the shoulder to get me to turn around. They didn’t do this to anyone else and not until I had placed my bags on the conveyor. I suspect this was to get me to turn my eyes away from my bags once they were on the other side. Both women were alone and neither had any bags. Neither went through the checkpoint. Did I mention the disinterested workers and custom agents texting while we stood there waiting for her to return our passports.
Once we finally got all the way into the terminal, we were looking for the lounges. There were signs that pointed to lounges but they were not there. We asked no fewer than 5 airport personnel how to find the lounge and not one could point us in the right direction.
It’s just the random inefficiency at EVERY SINGLE necessary point. And I promise you I am NOT easily flustered.