Today is the anniversary of the opening Almaza AirportIt was the first Egyptian airport to be established and managed under full Egyptian sovereignty, as it was opened by King Fouad I on June 2, 1932, in an event that was considered at the time an important step on the path to establishing Egyptian civil and military aviation.
Before the establishment of Almaza Airport, Egypt relied on Heliopolis Airport, which was under British control and used mainly by the British Air Force and its affiliated airlines. Therefore, the Egyptian government decided to establish an independent national airport in northeastern Cairo, and its construction began in 1930.
King Fouad witnesses the opening
According to what Tariq Badrawi reported in his book “Treasures of the Mother of the World,” the opening day witnessed a large popular celebration in the presence of King Fouad I, which coincided with the arrival of the first three Egyptian pilots who received training in Britain, namely Abdel Moneim Megawiti, Ahmed Abdel Razek, and Fouad Abdel Hamid Haggag.
Five Egyptian Tiger Moth planes took off from Hatfield Air Base north of London on May 22, 1932, flown by the three Egyptian pilots alongside two British pilots, before landing at Almaza Airport on June 2 amid a wide official and popular reception, thus announcing the official opening of the first Egyptian airport.
During the following decades, Almaza Airport turned into one of the most prominent air sites in Egypt, and witnessed many important events, including the reception of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first person to reach space, during his visit to Egypt on February 5, 1962, where he was received by a number of senior Egyptian officials.
