According to an internal publication from EgyptAir’s General Stations Administration, issued May 29, 2023, and reviewed by the Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE), addressed to all acting general managers, station managers, and traffic officers within the company. This document includes new instructions mandated by the Egyptian General Administration of Passports, Immigration, and Nationality at Cairo International Airport regarding the entry of Sudanese passengers into Egypt.

The new regulations stipulate that Sudanese nationals aged 16 to 50 must obtain a security clearance and a pre-entry visa, with the security clearance being printed and in hand so that they are allowed to cross. However, the publication exempts those holding valid residence permits for 6+ months in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the United States, the European Union, Canada, or the United Kingdom provided that they have flight tickets to any of those countries and sufficient foreign currency.

The publication also emphasized the necessity of obtaining security clearances for refugee passport holders, regardless of age or country of refuge, even if they hold valid residencies in the mentioned countries.

On June 3, 2023, the RPE documented the prevention of Sudanese nationals from entering Egypt through the Jeddah Airport due to not obtaining security clearances.

Moreover, on May 25, the Egyptian authorities issued a decision to cease accepting temporary travel documents of Sudanese nationals crossing into Egypt – a procedure that has been in place since the outset of the crisis– which created a congestion and crossing crisis at the border.

It is noteworthy that Port Sudan International Airport has resumed a limited number of flights to Jeddah and onward destinations after suspending work at the onset of the armed conflict in Sudan.