Sameh El-Hefny

Sameh Ahmed Zaki El-Hefny (; born 7 June 1966), also transliterated Sameh Elhefny or Sameh Al-Hafni, is an Egyptian airline pilot, aviation executive, and government official who has served as the Minister of Civil Aviation of Egypt since 3 July 2024 in the cabinet of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. A career pilot who joined the national carrier EgyptAir in 1988, he rose through its training and operations divisions before holding the country's most senior aviation posts, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EgyptAir Holding Company, President of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), and Egypt's Permanent Representative on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Early life and education El-Hefny was born in Cairo on 7 June 1966.

He subsequently pursued graduate study in both management and aviation. He holds a Master of Business Administration specialising in airport and airline (aerospace) management from Toulouse Business School in France, and a Master of Public Administration from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.

His ministerial programme has been framed around Egypt Vision 2030, the national development strategy, with stated goals of modernising aviation infrastructure, attracting private-sector investment, strengthening the financial position of EgyptAir, and positioning Egypt as a regional aviation hub.

Airport privatisation programme A central element of El-Hefny's tenure has been a programme to bring private-sector participation into the management and operation of Egyptian airports while retaining state ownership of the assets. In March 2025, the ministry engaged the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, as transaction adviser to develop a public–private partnership (PPP) strategy covering 11 airports. The initiative forms part of Egypt's broader state asset-monetisation programme launched in June 2023 and is intended to fund upgrades and expansion without drawing on the national budget.

Hurghada International Airport, a principal Red Sea tourism gateway and one of Egypt's busiest airports, was selected as the pilot for the programme. The qualification process for prospective operators opened in December 2025; the period for collecting tender documents was extended to 12 March 2026 after strong market interest, with the ministry reporting that dozens of international companies and consortia had obtained the terms of reference. The works have been linked to a wider "New Republic Air Gateway" development reviewed by President el-Sisi. In February 2025 he led a sectoral mission to London to promote investment and technical cooperation with the United Kingdom, including meetings with his British counterpart and UK aviation firms on airport development, fleet modernisation, and technology.