# Close Protection in Alexandria, Egypt

Canonical page: https://closeprotectionhire.com/cities/alexandria/

Close protection and secure transport in Alexandria, Egypt. Vetted operators for petrochemical and energy-sector visits, port logistics, and corporate travel.


## Threats

- **Targeted Shootings**: Alexandria has recorded two documented shootings targeting foreign nationals in the current period. In May 2023, a gunman at a checkpoint near a police station shot and killed two Israeli tourists and wounded four others. In October 2024, a separate shooting killed an Israeli-Canadian national. Both incidents are catalogued in FCDO travel advice for Egypt. They mean Alexandria carries a specific attack risk for individuals with Israeli or dual-national association that does not reduce simply because the city sits outside the Sinai conflict zone.
- **Terrorism (National Backdrop)**: The FCDO's country-wide assessment is that terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt. The active group, Islamic State Sinai Province, is concentrated in North Sinai, roughly 400km from Alexandria. Alexandria itself has not seen IS-SP activity, but the national threat level still shapes venue selection and advance planning for any visit.
- **Port and Industrial Site Access**: Alexandria handles a large share of Egypt's seaborne trade and hosts several of the country's refining and petrochemical complexes. Port and industrial facilities operate under Ministry of Interior and, in places, military-adjacent security protocols. Photography at or near port infrastructure, refineries, or the Suez Canal system is illegal under Egyptian law, including from a moving vehicle, and enforcement is active around Alexandria's harbour district.
- **State Surveillance and Detention Risk**: Egypt's security services maintain broad surveillance of foreign nationals, and social media content critical of the government carries a documented detention risk that applies in Alexandria as much as in Cairo. Business visitors attending energy-sector or government-adjacent meetings should be briefed on communications discipline before arrival.

## Regulations

- **Licensing**: Companies that guard facilities and transport money in Egypt are licensed under Law No. 86 of 2015. The Minister of Interior, or a delegate, is the only authority that issues and revokes these licences. Operating without a licence carries up to 1 year in prison and a fine.
- **Firearms**: Under Article 13 of Law No. 86 of 2015, guards of a licensed company may be licensed to hold weapons and ammunition under the Weapons and Ammunition Law No. 394 of 1954. The weapons belong to the company, not to the guard. Ask to see the weapons licences before any armed assignment. Most commercial close protection in Egypt runs unarmed.
- **Foreign operators**: Law No. 86 of 2015 licenses only a joint stock company wholly owned by Egyptians. Its founders, board members and guards must be Egyptian nationals. A foreign security company cannot hold the licence, so use an Egyptian-licensed company and take local legal advice before a foreign team carries out protective duties.

Sources, checked 2026-10-07:

- [Ahram Online, Sisi issues law authorising Egypt ministries of defence, interior to found security firms (13 July 2015)](https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/135226/Egypt/Politics-/Sisi-issues-law-authorising-Egypt-ministries-of-de.aspx)
- [Law No. 86 of 2015 on companies guarding facilities and transporting money (text, lawyeregypt.net)](https://lawyeregypt.net/%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%b1%d9%82%d9%85-86-%d9%84%d8%b3%d9%86%d8%a9-2015-%d8%a8%d8%a5%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%89-%d8%b4%d8%a3%d9%86-%d8%b4%d8%b1/)

## Zones

Lower-risk areas:

- Corniche waterfront (central stretch near Bibliotheca Alexandrina): well-trafficked, visible policing, established hotel presence
- San Stefano and Smouha districts: newer business and residential areas with a controlled environment and international hospital access
- Kafr Abdou and Roushdy: established residential districts with a lower crime profile, favoured by expatriate professionals

Elevated-risk areas:

- Port and industrial zones east of the city: restricted photography, active security checks, not a general-access area for casual movement
- Manshiya and the older commercial core after dark: reduced footfall and lighting once markets close
- Any Egypt-wide location connected to an Israeli-linked itinerary, given the 2023 and 2024 Alexandria shootings

## Emergency contacts

- Police: 122
- Tourist Police: 126
- Ambulance: 123
- Fire: 125
- Alexandria International Hospital: +20-3-429-9931
- British Embassy Cairo: +20-2-2791-6000

## Warnings

- Photography near port infrastructure, refineries, military sites, or the Suez Canal system is illegal, including from a mobile phone, and enforcement is active in Alexandria's harbour area. Brief every member of a visiting delegation before arrival.
- The May 2023 and October 2024 Alexandria shootings both targeted individuals with Israeli association. Itineraries with any Israeli connection require a specific threat assessment, not a general Egypt briefing.
- There is currently no operating British Consulate in Alexandria. Consular support for British nationals routes through the British Embassy in Cairo, roughly 220km away by the desert road. Factor this into any incident-response plan.
- Drug offences in Egypt carry the death penalty or life imprisonment, with no tolerance for any quantity of any controlled substance. This applies in Alexandria exactly as it does nationally.
- Social media posts critical of the Egyptian government carry a documented detention risk for foreign nationals. Communications protocols should cover every member of a visiting party, not the principal alone.

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](/countries/egypt/). Visitors combining Alexandria with the capital can review our [Cairo city briefing](/cities/cairo/), and for wider regional context, our [Beirut city briefing](/cities/beirut/) 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.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Alexandria safe for business travel?

Alexandria is generally calmer than Cairo on day-to-day crime, but it is not risk-free. Two documented shootings, in May 2023 and October 2024, targeted individuals with Israeli association. For most corporate visitors the main planning points are a vetted security driver, a communications briefing, and awareness of photography restrictions around the port and industrial zones. For Israeli-linked itineraries, a full threat assessment is appropriate before travel.

### How do visitors reach Alexandria?

Alexandria has its own airport, Borg El Arab International (HBE), around 40km southwest of the city with limited scheduled international routes. Most business travellers fly into Cairo International (CAI) and continue overland via the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, roughly 220km and 2.5 to 3 hours by car depending on traffic, or by rail from Cairo's main station. A security driver collecting from Cairo airport is the standard arrangement for corporate visits.

### What makes Alexandria different from Cairo for security planning?

Alexandria is Egypt's main Mediterranean port and a centre for refining and petrochemical industry, so a meaningful share of corporate visits involve port or industrial-site access rather than the government and tourism-heavy itinerary typical of Cairo. Photography restrictions around port infrastructure are strictly enforced, and site visits to refining or petrochemical facilities need advance clearance and a briefed security driver.

### Is there a British Consulate in Alexandria for emergencies?

No. Historically the UK maintained a consular presence in Alexandria given its port-city and expatriate history, but current UK government listings show no operating consulate there. Consular support for British nationals is handled through the British Embassy in Cairo, roughly 220km away. Any incident-response plan for Alexandria should account for that distance.

### Do I need close protection in Alexandria?

For routine corporate visits, a vetted security driver and situational awareness briefing cover most requirements. Executives visiting port or petrochemical facilities, government-adjacent meetings, or anyone with an Israeli-linked itinerary should consider a full close protection detail given the documented 2023 and 2024 shootings.