Overview
Borg El Arab International Airport is the main commercial airport for Alexandria, Egypt. Its IATA code is HBE and its ICAO code is HEBA. The clocks here run on Africa/Cairo, the runway sits about 177 ft above sea level, and the airport is a mid-sized regional airport, with around 41 scheduled departure pairs in the public OpenFlights schedule plus onward connections through partner airlines.
Terminals and concourses
Most travellers will pass through one of a handful of terminal areas at Borg El Arab International Airport. Bigger fields tend to split domestic and international traffic into separate halls, each with its own arrivals area, immigration counters, customs and a landside check-in concourse. Signage is bilingual wherever the local language and English share the airport, and walking between terminals at Alexandria's main gateway is usually possible on foot. Where the aprons stretch more than a kilometre, a shuttle bus or an automated people mover takes over.
Lounges and amenities
Lounge options at Borg El Arab International Airport match what you would expect from a mid-sized regional airport. There is normally at least one airline-run lounge for premium-cabin passengers and elite-status flyers, plus an independent or contract lounge that sells day passes and accepts programmes like Priority Pass, DragonPass, Plaza Premium and LoungeKey. Inside, you can usually count on hot food, espresso, charging at every seat, decent Wi-Fi, and showers at the busier terminals. Quiet zones, prayer rooms and family areas tend to sit landside near check-in.
Getting to and from the airport
Getting between Borg El Arab International Airport and central Alexandria is straightforward. Licensed taxis queue at marked curbs outside arrivals, with metered or zoned fares posted at the rank. Ride-hail apps have a designated pickup point, often one level up at departures or in a nearby lot. Public transport varies by city. A primary gateway like this one almost always offers an express train, a metro line or a dedicated airport bus running from before the first wave of departures until after the last arrival. Long-stay parking, rental car desks and hotel shuttle stops are clustered together on the landside.
Tips for travellers
A few things worth knowing for Borg El Arab International Airport. Aim to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and three hours before an international one, especially during peak banks. Local time is Africa/Cairo, so plan your transfers around the time difference if you are coming in from another zone. Save a screenshot of your boarding pass before you leave the house, since terminal Wi-Fi is hit and miss when it gets busy. If you are connecting on a partner airline, check whether your bag is tagged through to the final destination, because Borg El Arab International Airport handles a mix of in-terminal and inter-terminal connections. With 41 direct destinations on the public schedule, this is a useful node for both point-to-point trips and onward connections across Egypt and the wider region.
More guides for HBE
Four extra pages dig deeper into lounges, layovers, getting to and from the airport, and the terminal layout itself. Open whichever one matches the problem in front of you.
Lounges at HBE
lounges
LAYOVERLayover at HBE
layover guide
TRANSPORTTransport at HBE
ground transport
TERMINALSTerminals at HBE
terminals and gates
Direct destinations from HBE
These are the cities you can fly to nonstop from Borg El Arab International Airport, based on the published schedule. Tap any one to open its own terminal, lounge and route guide.
King Abdulaziz International Airport
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
KWIKuwait International Airport
Kuwait
RUHKing Khaled International Airport
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TIPTripoli International Airport
Tripoli, Libya
ATHEleftherios Venizelos International Airport
Athens, Greece
DMMKing Fahd International Airport
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
CAICairo International Airport
Cairo, Egypt
SSHSharm El Sheikh International Airport
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
ISTIstanbul Airport
Istanbul, Turkey
MEDPrince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport
Madinah, Saudi Arabia
AMMQueen Alia International Airport
Amman, Jordan
DXBDubai International Airport
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
SHJSharjah International Airport
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
BENBenina International Airport
Benghazi, Libya
BEYBeirut Rafic Hariri International Airport
Beirut, Lebanon
HRGHurghada International Airport
Hurghada, Egypt
DOHHamad International Airport
Doha, Qatar