El Gouna Airport is a designated Airstrip in the Red Sea resort of El Gouna. It has 5002 feet long runway, and It has a traffic control tower which is only used to coordinate the departure and arrivals of flights into Gouna with the Hurghada ATC. El Gouna Airport was a domestic airport a few years back, but since the revolution of 2011 it has now lost its designation as a domestic airport, and it is a VFR only landing strip.
El Gouna Airport ramp and facilities
There are no terminals at El Gouna airport, but it does have ramp space for 5 to 6 heavy aircraft. The aircraft that usually park at El Gouna Airport are G650, Global XRS and Cl 605 and a Cl 604. There is no Jet-A or customs and Immigration available at El Gouna Airport.
El Gouna is an airstrip serving a Red Sea resort, not an airport in the ordinary sense.
It has ramp space, a tower that coordinates with Hurghada, and very little else. Three
characteristics decide every trip: it is VFR only, there is no customs or immigration, and
there is no Jet-A.
Daylight, and visual conditions
Since losing its domestic designation the field has operated under visual flight rules
only. There is no instrument let-down, so arrivals are flown visually in daylight and the
weather has to hold. On the Red Sea that is usually straightforward, but blowing sand and
reduced visibility do occur, and when they do the answer is a diversion rather than a hold.
Hurghada is the obvious alternate and sits close enough to make the road transfer tolerable.
El Gouna cannot be your point of entry
There are no customs or immigration facilities. Any flight arriving into Egypt from
abroad has to clear at an airport that has them before continuing to El Gouna, which in
practice means Hurghada or Cairo. This is the single most common surprise for clients booking a
Red Sea trip: the resort is the destination, but it cannot be the arrival point on an
international sector.
Fuel comes from Hurghada
No Jet-A is available at El Gouna. Fuel is either tankered in for the return, or uplifted
at Hurghada on the way through. For a light or midsize jet operating within the region this
rarely constrains anything. For a heavy aircraft arriving from Europe or the Gulf, it needs
resolving when the aircraft is chosen, because it affects both payload and the shape of the
routing.
Ramp space is finite
The ramp holds roughly five to six large aircraft, and it regularly sees G650, Global and
Challenger types. In peak season that capacity is the binding constraint. Parking has to be
coordinated in advance, and on busy weekends an aircraft may need to reposition to Hurghada
between sectors rather than wait on the ramp.
Permits
Egyptian overflight and landing permissions apply according to the aircraft's registration
and the route flown, and the lead time on those is usually what sets the earliest possible
departure — not anything at the airfield itself. Our flight permits page explains how those timelines
are built and what extends them.
Common questions
Can we clear customs at El Gouna?
No. There are no customs or immigration facilities. International arrivals must clear
elsewhere in Egypt first, most often at Hurghada, then continue on a domestic sector.
Is there jet fuel at El Gouna?
No Jet-A is available. Fuel is tankered in or uplifted at Hurghada.
Can a private jet land at El Gouna at night?
No. The field is VFR only, so movements are daylight and visual conditions only.
Which aircraft can use El Gouna?
The ramp routinely handles large-cabin types including Global and Challenger aircraft.
Space rather than runway is the practical limit, particularly in season.
Flying to El Gouna
Icarus Jet arranges handling, permits, fuel planning and crew logistics for El Gouna. Call +1 888 277 7203, available 24 hours, or contact us online for a quotation that accounts for all of it.
Author:
Kevin Singh is the Founder and CEO of Icarus Jet and an active Bombardier Global captain with over 30 years of experience in private aviation. He has flown the Hawker 400xp, 800, Challenger 600, and he is an Instructor on the Global 5000/6000 series and has managed aviation operations across Dallas, Dubai, London, Egypt and Nairobi.
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