The race to accommodate a growing tourism market is reshaping fleet planning among Egyptian airlines, as carriers weigh the high cost of permanent aircraft expansion against the flexibility offered by wet leasing.
With nearly 19 million tourists visiting Egypt in 2025, according to the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the scale of the government’s tourism growth ambition is creating a clear requirement for additional aircraft and stronger airport infrastructure.
However, industry experts say the challenge for Egyptian carriers is not simply acquiring more aircraft, but determining how much capacity should form part of their permanent fleets and how much should be deployed temporarily during seasonal peaks or unforeseen disruptions.
This is where aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI), commonly known as wet leasing, could become an increasingly important component of airline fleet strategy.
Justinas Bulka, chief executive officer of KlasJet, an ACMI and charter operator within Avia Solutions Group, said Egypt’s airlines need to combine long-term fleet expansion with flexible capacity solutions.
“Egypt’s airlines have strong reasons to grow, but not every increase in demand requires a permanent aircraft.
“Fleet ownership and long-term leases provide the foundation for sustained growth, while ACMI gives airlines the flexibility to respond to seasonal peaks, launch new routes or cover short-term capacity gaps. The two should form part of the same fleet strategy,” Bulka said.
The issue is becoming more significant as Egypt simultaneously expands its aviation infrastructure and encourages airlines to increase their fleets.
A planned fourth terminal at Cairo International Airport is expected to raise the airport’s annual passenger capacity to 70 million, while Sphinx International Airport has recently undergone an upgrade.
At the airline level, EgyptAir is targeting a fleet of 125 aircraft, with plans to add 34 aircraft and double passenger numbers. Air Cairo, the EgyptAir subsidiary, also plans to expand its fleet from 42 to 82 aircraft over the next four years.
While these investments are designed to support long-term growth, passenger traffic is not evenly distributed across the year, routes or tourism markets.
More than 10.2 million European tourists accounted for 65 percent of Egypt’s international arrivals in 2024, according to OECD data, while charter flights to Egyptian tourism destinations increased by 32 percent in 2025.
The concentration of visitors from different markets, combined with varying travel seasons and destination preferences, means airlines face fluctuating demand across their networks.
For carriers, the dilemma is increasingly financial as well as operational.
Maintaining sufficient permanent aircraft to cover every seasonal peak could result in underutilised capacity during slower periods. Conversely, building fleets around average annual demand could leave airlines short of aircraft when demand, and potential revenue, is at its highest.
ACMI leasing offers a middle ground by allowing airlines to bring in aircraft for a defined period and release the capacity once it is no longer required.
KlasJet said it showcased the speed of the model through its cooperation with Air Cairo in 2025, when an aircraft was ferried to Cairo within three days of an agreement being signed.
The ability to deploy aircraft rapidly could become increasingly valuable as Egyptian airlines execute ambitious growth programmes in an aviation industry still grappling with supply-chain constraints.
EgyptAir has begun receiving aircraft under its fleet expansion programme, including 16 Airbus A350-900s and 18 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
However, aircraft manufacturers continue to face production and supply-chain challenges, while Airbus and Boeing collectively have an estimated 12-year order backlog, exposing airlines to delivery delays beyond their control.
Bulka said temporary capacity could help carriers protect commercial plans when aircraft deliveries are delayed.
“When a delivery moves, the commercial plan does not move with it.
“The airline may already have schedules, crews, airport slots and passenger commitments in place. ACMI can bridge that gap until the permanent aircraft arrives, allowing the airline to continue operating and protecting the wider growth plan,” he noted.
Beyond delivery delays, temporary aircraft capacity can also help airlines manage scheduled maintenance, unexpected technical problems and new route launches.
Industry projections indicate that strategic deployment of ACMI capacity could also improve airline economics.
By adding aircraft during periods of high demand and releasing them when traffic declines, the model could increase overall airline profitability by an estimated 2–3 percent, according to KlasJet.
“Airlines need a stable core fleet, but they also need the flexibility to respond as conditions change,” Bulka said.
“ACMI provides that variable layer of capacity: aircraft can be introduced when demand rises, redeployed across routes as priorities shift and released once the requirement ends.
“That is what allows long-term fleet growth and short-term market demand to work together,” he added.
