EgyptAir returning to Singapore and Sydney from early 2027

Star Alliance carrier EgyptAir has announced plans to link Singapore with both Cairo and Sydney from early 2027, using its brand new Airbus A350-900s on a one-stop service connecting Egypt and Australia via Changi.

The route was unveiled jointly by the airline, Changi Airport Group and Sydney Airport at the El Alamein Air Show in Egypt earlier this week. It remains subject to regulatory approvals, and there’s no word yet on schedules, frequency, or exactly when tickets will go on sale.

EgyptAir will become the 15th Star Alliance airline serving Changi, following Asiana’s exit from the alliance in December as it merges into Korean Air, keeping the Star Alliance carrier count at the airport constant.

What isn’t clear yet is whether the carrier will have “fifth freedom” traffic rights between Singapore and Sydney, allowing it to sell tickets for travel solely between the two cities on these new services. We’d assume these will be forthcoming, since they’re probably vital to the commercial viability of the route.

Not quite a “first”

The joint announcement describes this as the first direct link between Singapore and North Africa, while Sydney Airport’s own release calls it the first direct link between Sydney and Cairo.

Neither is quite right.

Singapore Airlines served Cairo for almost 30 years, launching the route in November 1984 with a once-weekly Boeing 747 on a Singapore – Colombo – Cairo – Amsterdam routing. Non-stop flights followed later that decade, supplemented from 1991 by services via Dubai, once traffic rights between those two cities were secured.

By 2014 the route had dwindled to three flights a week via Dubai, and SIA announced its suspension that May, citing the “sustained weak performance” of the service. The last flight operated on 30th September 2014, with Riyadh axed at the same time (interestingly, the latter is making a return in December this year).

More surprisingly, this isn’t EgyptAir’s first time on this exact routing either.

EgyptAir launched twice-weekly Cairo – Singapore – Sydney flights on 10th November 1995, arriving into Changi from Cairo on Tuesdays and Fridays before continuing to Sydney, with the return services departing Singapore for Cairo on Thursdays and Sundays.

The route ran for almost seven years, using Boeing 767-300, Boeing 777-200 and – most recently between 1998 and 2002 – Airbus A340-200 aircraft, until it was axed in July 2002.

That makes this a comeback for EgyptAir at both Changi and Sydney, albeit after an almost 25-year absence.

Nonetheless, the airline has changed considerably in the meantime, joining Star Alliance in 2008, and it is very much in expansion mode, having returned to Los Angeles in May 2026 for the first time in over two decades and launched Chicago flights in June 2026. It’s fair to treat this one as a new service.

Since SIA’s exit, anyone travelling between the Lion City and Egypt has needed to change planes along the way, typically at one of the Gulf hubs, or in Istanbul.

The airports say demand has been building, with Changi Airport Group reporting that Egypt was the biggest African market with no direct flights for both Singapore and Australia in 2025, measured by point-to-point traffic statistics.

Sydney Airport also highlights the fact that more than 21,000 people of Egyptian heritage live in New South Wales, making it Australia’s largest Egyptian community. EgyptAir will be Sydney’s 54th airline, a record for the airport.

Why Singapore?

Stopping at Changi on the way between Cairo and Sydney makes some geographic sense.

The two cities are around 14,400km apart as the crow flies, and routing via Singapore adds only about 1% to that distance, with sectors of roughly 8,260km (Cairo – Singapore) and 6,290km (Singapore – Sydney), or about 14,550km in total.

That’s well beyond the range of an A350-900 non-stop, so a stop somewhere is unavoidable, and Singapore is not only one of the the most direct places to make it but also potentially the one with the most local traffic EgyptAir can tap into.

While schedules haven’t been announced, flight time between Cairo and Singapore will be approximately 10 to 11 hours, with Singapore – Sydney adding around 8 hours more. Including the Changi transit, that’s an end-to-end journey of roughly 20 hours.

EgyptAir isn’t alone in using an Asian stopover to reach Australia. Alongside Turkish Airlines, Finnair enters the market on 25th October with daily Helsinki – Bangkok – Melbourne flights, while British Airways returns to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur from 9th January 2027, its first flights there since 2006.

For Singapore-based travellers, the more interesting part may be what the EgyptAir network offers beyond Cairo.

We’d expect the airline to time these new flights to meet the largest connection banks at its home hub, which would open up a new one-stop Star Alliance option between Singapore and a range of European cities, including the likes of Madrid, Manchester, London, Brussels, Prague, Venice and Geneva – several of which Singapore Airlines doesn’t serve at all.

Cairo’s position makes it particularly well suited to Southern Europe, and to parts of the Levant and North Africa where the Gulf carriers have historically had the one-stop market from Singapore largely to themselves.

“Fifth freedom”? The big unknown

For many of our readers, the question is whether EgyptAir will be able to sell seats on the Singapore – Sydney sector on its own once these new flights launch.

On the Singapore side we’d be surprised if this were an obstacle. Singapore generally takes a “grow the air hub” approach to these requests, on the basis that more airlines flying more routes out of Changi benefits the wider economy – even if incumbent carriers might grumble.

It’s something we explored in more detail when Turkish Airlines’ Singapore – Sydney rights were confirmed, with the carrier never achieving a similar approval for its Kuala Lumpur – Sydney routing.

The Australian government also needs to sign off on the Singapore – Sydney traffic, though it has already done so for both Turkish Airlines and British Airways on this route.

Without those rights, EgyptAir could only carry passengers on the Singapore – Sydney leg who were travelling to or from Cairo (or beyond), which is exactly the issue that prompted Turkish Airlines to switch its Sydney service from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore from late October this year.

Half-empty aircraft on the second sector of a 20-hour journey are no way to make money, so it’s hard to see EgyptAir pressing ahead without this approval.

The Sydney route gets even busier

EgyptAir will be the sixth airline flying non-stop between Changi and Sydney, joining Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Scoot, Turkish Airlines and British Airways.

Assuming it secures the necessary permissions, it will also be the third “fifth freedom” operator on the route, alongside Turkish and BA.

The route already sees around 67 weekly flights between the two cities based on November 2026 schedules, with Star Alliance carriers accounting for almost half of them, and EgyptAir’s arrival will push that share further still, though we’d be surprised to see more than two or three weekly services announced.

Business Class

EgyptAir currently has four Airbus A350-900s in service, with another 12 on order for an eventual fleet of 16.

The aircraft is configured in two classes, with 30 flat-bed seats in Business Class in a 1-2-1 layout, so every passenger has direct aisle access. These are Collins Aerospace Elevation suites, with sliding privacy doors.

There’s no Premium Economy cabin, with the remaining 310 seats in Economy Class in a 3-3-3 configuration.

Do note that EgyptAir is a “dry” airline, so there’s no alcohol served on board, in any cabin. That may be a consideration on a journey of around 20 hours end to end, or even if you appreciate a glass of champagne or two when flying in Business Class down to Australia and back.

Booking and awards

Here are the KrisFlyer redemption rates for EgyptAir flights under the Star Alliance award chart.

KrisFlyer Star Alliance Awards EgyptAir (one-way)
Route	Economy	Business
Singapore – Cairo	43,000	90,500
Singapore – Europe (via Cairo)	52,000	114,000
Singapore – Sydney*	37,000	90,000

* Subject to EgyptAir securing “fifth freedom” rights on this sector

Singapore – Cairo awards would price at KrisFlyer’s Middle East rates for Star Alliance partners, while those travelling all the way to or from a European city via Cairo would pay the Europe rate.

If the Singapore – Sydney sector does pick up “fifth freedom” rights, it will price the same as Turkish Airlines on the route, which isn’t a great deal compared to Singapore Airlines if Saver space is available, but could save you a decent chunk of miles if SIA is only offering Advantage rates.

For comparison, Singapore Airlines charges 29,000 miles in Economy and 72,000 miles in Business at Saver level on this route, rising to 60,500 and 103,500 miles respectively at Advantage level.

Unfortunately EgyptAir levies a hefty fuel and insurance surcharge on its flights, which KrisFlyer passes on to members for partner awards. As an example, a Cairo – London Heathrow redemption in Business Class using KrisFlyer miles currently comes with over S$240 in taxes and fees on top of the miles, more than half of which (roughly S$190) is EgyptAir’s fuel surcharge.

Expect something similar on these Singapore flights, and likely on both sectors if you’re connecting in Cairo to or from Europe, so EgyptAir won’t be a low-fee option for award redemptions.

By contrast, a Singapore Airlines redemption from Singapore to Europe comes with only around S$65 in taxes and fees, in any cabin.

EgyptAir is planning to return to Singapore and Sydney from early 2027 using its new two-class Airbus A350-900s, subject to regulatory approvals, almost 25 years after it last flew the route.

That will also restore a direct link between Singapore and Egypt for the first time since Singapore Airlines left Cairo in 2014, and add a new one-stop Star Alliance option to Europe, albeit one likely to have high surcharges on award tickets.

The big unknown for Singapore-based travellers is whether EgyptAir will secure “fifth freedom” rights between Changi and Sydney. If it does, it will become the sixth airline on the route and the third to operate it on that basis, alongside Turkish Airlines and British Airways.

We’ll bring you schedules, fares and award availability details as soon as they are announced.

(Cover Photo: Liam Thompson)