Egyptair is launching year-round flights to Dublin (DUB) this summer, becoming the first nonstop scheduled service between Ireland and Egypt in more than six years.

The route from Cairo (CAI) will begin on June 2, operating four times per week using Airbus A320neo aircraft. Flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Captain Amr Nabil, Egyptair chairman and CEO, expects the connection to attract leisure and business traffic, as well as serving Arab communities in Ireland.

He added that the route would also open up new destinations in Africa and the Middle East for Irish passengers on Egyptair’s network beyond Cairo.

The last nonstop service between Ireland and Egypt ended in January 2016 when Thomson Airways cut its year-round Dublin-Sharm El-Sheikh (SSH) service.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Egyptair to Ireland and to add Cairo to Dublin Airport’s extensive route network,” Dublin Airport MD Vincent Harrison said. “Cairo is one of the world’s great cities and we will be working closely with Egyptair to promote this new route, which will be welcomed by both business and leisure travelers.”

O&D traffic between Ireland and Egypt totaled 16,200 two-way passengers in 2019, Sabre Market Intelligence data shows, of which the Dublin-Cairo market accounted for around 73% of passengers.

Given the absence of nonstop flights, Istanbul (IST) was the largest one-stop connecting point, followed by Frankfurt (FRA) and London Heathrow (LHR).