War of words between Egypt and travel blogger Ben Schlappig over Cairo airport being 'worst in the world'

The Egyptian government and travel blogger Ben Schlappig are currently engaged in a war of words after he published a controversial review on his travel blog detailing his negative experiences at the Cairo International Airport over the years.

On 11 November, Schlappig posted a review, titled, "Cairo Airport: Is There A Worse Major Airport?". It was quickly picked up by social media users in Egypt and elsewhere, and eventually made news headlines, prompting the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation to officially refute the review as "baseless claims". 

In his review, Schlappig complained about the odour of cigarette smoke in the bathroom, unfriendly attitude of the airport policemen and officials towards travellers, disorganised and long queues, and workers' continuous requests to be tipped.   

Travellers from around the world reacted to Schlappig's review, sharing comments on social media platforms and on his blog of similar experiences with Egyptian airport dating back to the mid 1940s.

Last year, the Cairo International Airport received more than 26 million passengers via nearly 195,000 flights.

'A Pyongyang-esque response'

Meanwhile, mostly pro-regime Egyptians quickly defended their country’s airport authorities and attempted to refute Schlappig's claims. Some commentators even threatened to prosecute him over what they described as his attempt "to defame their homeland's reputation".

One posted a comment on Schlappig's blog, accusing him of fabricating the review while relaxing at the airport's VIP lounge. Another post claimed the photos attached to the article in question were not taken in Cairo in the first place.    

Most recently, on Monday, local media outlets, known for their loyalty to the government, advocated the official narrative supported by a recently released CCTV feed purportedly revealing Schlappig at the Cairo airport during his trip on two separate days on 10 and 11 November, when he stopped in Cairo twice while en route to another country.

The video, provided by the aviation ministry following an internal investigation into Schlappig's allegations, showed Schlappig carrying out all procedures smoothly with no obstacles.

The New Arab could not independently verify the video segments.

"Well, I think my days of visiting Cairo Airport may be over, because the country's government is accusing me of lying, and is threatening me for spreading false information," Schlappig wrote in a post shortly afterwards.

"Admittedly, I know my job comes with some risks, but I've gotta say, in my nearly 17 years of blogging, this is perhaps the most bizarre response I’ve ever seen from a government to any negative story I've written. So unless you think Cairo Airport is the finest in the world, make sure you keep it to yourself! I know Egypt isn't necessarily the most pro-free speech place on earth, but I wasn't expecting a Pyongyang-esque response," the world traveller added

Tourism is a significant source of Egypt's national income and foreign currency. According to the June report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2023, the sector contributed about 24% of the country's GDP and nearly 8.1% of its economy, garnering almost 953 billion Egyptian pounds.  One US dollar equals about 49.40 Egyptian pounds.