Review of Egyptair flight from London to Cairo in Economy

My journey started in the evening of July 1st, 2024, after an hour and a half coach ride down to London Heathrow Terminal 2.

I entered the terminal, and check-in was smooth, with the self-service kiosks printing our boarding passes and luggage tags.

Security was also quick and easy — just a couple of minutes — and once I was through, I headed into the main terminal to wait for my gate, which was A16.
Our aircraft from Cairo had arrived late, which caused about a 40-minute delay to boarding and departure. I sat at the gate for a while, and eventually boarding began. It was a bit slow, mainly because we were using a very long jetbridge that wrapped around part of the terminal, and everyone boarded at once.

Once onboard, the aircraft looked fresh and modern. EgyptAir’s business class cabin looked impressive — proper reclining seats in a 2–2 layout, unlike the blocked middle seats you see on European airlines like BA or Lufthansa. The economy cabin was also sleek, with a clean, modern design and seatback IFE screens at every seat.

I took my seat, 30J, towards the back of the aircraft. The in-flight entertainment system was responsive, with a good selection of movies and a working moving map.
After the safety video played, we pushed back from gate A16 and taxied to runway 27R. We held short for a few minutes while a few inbound aircraft landed - one of which was an El Al Israel Airlines 787 parked next to us - and then we took off, rotating to the south east. 

After departure, we banked left and climbed out over the English Channel, passing over Paris, Switzerland, and Venice before crossing the Adriatic Sea towards Greece and flying over Athens.
About 45 minutes into the flight, the crew began meal service. Dinner consisted of a beef dish in a creamy pepper sauce, served with salad, a bread roll, cheesecake, and EgyptAir’s signature mango juice. The food tasted great, especially considering it was a late-night service.
During the flight, the cabin lighting phased between soft blue and red tones, giving it a nice ambience. I watched a movie on my laptop while tracking our position on the in-flight map.
As we continued down the Mediterranean, a beautiful sunrise appeared off the left side of the aircraft, however, unfortunately, I was seated on the right, so I only caught glimpses of it. 

We began our descent into Cairo early in the morning, approaching from the north. Landing was smooth, though the taxi to our gate took quite a while, as Cairo Airport is quite large.
Once off the aircraft, I went to the bathroom, which, like much of the airport, wasn’t very clean. The terminal felt old and a bit broken in places. To enter the country, passengers first had to queue at a bank counter to pay for a visa (USD 25), then join another long line for passport control. Only a few desks were open, and several flights had arrived at the same time, so it took a while to get through.

After finally clearing immigration, I met my driver for a short tour of Cairo during my 21-hour layover. I had plenty of time to explore, visiting the pyramids and seeing a bit of the city before my next flight.