Cairo’s airspace was closed for half an hour on Tuesday due to military exercises, with civil flights resuming afterwards.

The airspace above Cairo International Airport was closed from 13.00 – 13.30 CLT (11.00 – 11.30 GMT) and a limited number of flights were slightly delayed, said Ashraf El-Hadidi, Ahram's Cairo Airport bureau chief.

Cairo’s airspace then reopened to commercial flights, and air traffic to and from the airport returned to normal.

Military exercises are common in Egypt, and the airspace above Cairo has been closed on several occasions before.