EgyptAir launched its first nonstop service between Cairo International Airport (CAI) and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) on June 22, 2026, expanding the Star Alliance carrier's North American footprint to seven gateways alongside New York JFK, Newark, Washington Dulles, Boston, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
The route operates three times weekly — on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — using an Airbus A350-900 configured with 340 seats: 30 in business class and 310 in economy. Flight MS947 departs Cairo at 00:50 local time and arrives at O'Hare at 05:15 local time; the return flight MS948 departs Chicago at 10:30 and lands in Cairo at 05:40 the following morning (Emperor Divers).
EgyptAir is the sole nonstop operator on the CAI–ORD city pair, delivering approximately 2,040 two-way seats per week with no competing nonstop carrier (Aviation Week). Chicago's substantial Egyptian and Middle Eastern diaspora community, combined with strong demand for EgyptAir's onward connections from Cairo to Africa and the Gulf, underpins the route's commercial rationale.
O'Hare International Airport marked EgyptAir's arrival with a ceremony on the airfield (Chicago O'Hare Official Facebook). The Chicago launch follows EgyptAir's May 2026 inauguration of Cairo–Los Angeles service — its longest route by block time — as part of a coordinated push into North America using the airline's new A350-900 fleet (Live and Let's Fly).
Sources
- https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/routes-networks-latest-rolling-daily-updates-wc-june-22-2026
- https://liveandletsfly.com/egyptair-chicago-los-angeles
- https://www.emperordivers.com/egyptair-launches-new-non-stop-flights-from-chicago-and-los-angeles-to-cairo
- https://www.facebook.com/fly2ohare/posts/egyptair-has-officially-touched-down-in-chicago-we-had-a-blast-on-the-airfield-a/1427259162778200
Things to do at each end of the route
Top-rated tours & experiences in Cairo and Chicago.