Airport officials say five other international flights were diverted from Cairo either to Cyprus or to the southern Red Sea resort of Hurghada, some 300 miles south of Cairo. They included a British Airways flight from London, Ghana Airways from Nairobi, CorsAir from Paris and EgyptAir from Dar es Salaam. In the Suez Canal area, port authorities declared a state of emergency for possible disruption to traffic in the strategic waterway.
Weather forecasters expect the sandstorm, centred in the Western Desert, to last for two days.
Egypt is often hit by fierce sandstorms at this time of the year. In the Lebanese capital Beirut, a similar storm has reduced visibility to 500 yards and briefly disrupted air traffic. Jets operated by Air France, AirLanka and a private plane from Abu Dhabi were kept circling over Beirut airport. Ths website is designed and maintained in cooperation with HelpForMyWebsite.