Close Protection in Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria is Egypt’s second-largest city and its principal Mediterranean port, handling the large majority of the country’s seaborne trade. It sits roughly 220km northwest of Cairo along the desert road, a different city in character from the capital: less government and tourism traffic, more shipping, refining, and petrochemical business. Six refineries and three petrochemical complexes operate in and around the city, representing a substantial share of Egypt’s national refining capacity. For corporate visitors, that industrial base shapes the itinerary as much as the city’s ancient history does.

The historical draw is real and distinct from Cairo’s pyramid-led tourism. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, built on the site of the ancient Library of Alexandria, the 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel on the site of the old lighthouse, and Pompey’s Pillar all sit within the city rather than requiring a day trip out. Corporate visits often combine business meetings with a short cultural itinerary along the Corniche, the city’s waterfront boulevard, and security planning needs to account for both the business and the heritage-site legs of a single trip.

The security picture is calmer than Cairo’s on routine crime but carries its own specific concern. Two shootings, in May 2023 and October 2024, targeted individuals with Israeli association in Alexandria, a pattern documented by the FCDO. Neither was connected to the Sinai-based terrorism threat that dominates national risk assessments; both indicate a targeted threat that can reach tourist and public locations in the city itself. This changes the calculus for any itinerary with an Israeli-linked element, regardless of how routine the rest of the visit looks.

Alexandria has no operating British Consulate at present. Consular support for British nationals runs through the British Embassy in Cairo, a meaningful distance away by the desert road, and this needs to be built into any incident-response plan rather than assumed to be a local resource.

Security Services in Alexandria

We provide close protection, security drivers, and residential security in Alexandria and across Egypt, with specific route and site-access experience for the port and petrochemical corridor east of the city. Drivers are briefed on both the Cairo-Alexandria desert road and the coastal alternative, and advance work for any refinery or port-facility visit includes the photography and access restrictions that apply to that zone. All operators are licensed under Egypt’s Ministry of Interior framework and vetted through our own internal process before deployment.

For the national regulatory and threat picture, see our Egypt country hub. Visitors combining Alexandria with the capital can review our Cairo city briefing, and for wider regional context, our Beirut city briefing covers a comparable Eastern Mediterranean operating environment.

Source: FCDO Travel Advice for Egypt, updated 28 March 2026, current at 22 July 2026. US State Department Travel Advisory for Egypt, Level 2 (2026). British Embassy Cairo public advisories.