Prepaid SIMs in Terminal 3
Etisalat in Cairo Airport Terminal 3 sits landside, just after you exit customs for arriving passengers and before the main departures check-in hall for departures. It’s one of the first mobile counters you see when walking out of the international arrivals area in T3, alongside other Egyptian carriers.
This shop focuses on mobile SIM cards and top‑ups, not general electronics. Staff can usually set up an Egyptian prepaid SIM in under 10–15 minutes if you have your passport ready. Expect basic English; enough for “data only” vs “calls and data,” and for confirming gigabytes and validity days.
Packages change often, but travelers in 2024 report tourist bundles from major Egyptian carriers starting around 200–300 EGP for roughly 20–25 GB of data. Etisalat typically offers similar price points in-store as in town, so you’re not paying a huge airport premium, though you’ll still find slightly cheaper deals in Cairo city shops.
You can usually pay by card (Visa or Mastercard) or in cash using Egyptian pounds from the Terminal 3 ATMs in the arrivals hall. Have your phone unlocked before landing; airport staff can’t help if your device is still SIM‑locked to a foreign carrier. Dual‑SIM phones (physical + eSIM) tend to cause fewer issues during setup.
Tip: if you’re connecting through another terminal, finish SIM setup in Terminal 3 before heading toward Terminal 1 or 2; once you ride the shuttle, walking back to T3 just for mobile service is a time sink.