Best Meeting Time: Cairo to London
🕐 Live Timezone Overlap: Cairo & London
Cairo sits 2 hours ahead of London for most of the year, which gives teams a workable window without anyone rising at dawn or staying unusually late. The 7-hour overlap between a standard 9am-6pm day in Cairo and the same in London means morning calls in London land comfortably in the early afternoon for Cairo colleagues. That said, Cairo's Sunday-Thursday working week means Friday meetings, routine in London, simply do not exist for most Egyptian offices.
Time Difference: Cairo and London
London is currently 2 hours behind Cairo. The live offsets are Cairo UTC+3 and London UTC+1. Cairo observes daylight saving and London also observes daylight saving, so the offset shifts twice a year if both sides aren't already aligned.
Both Cairo and London observe daylight saving time, so the gap between them can shift across the year. Cairo moves to UTC+3 from late April to late October; London moves to UTC+1 over a similar but not identical period. When both cities are on summer time simultaneously the difference holds at 2 hours. The risk is the brief windows around each changeover weekend when only one city has switched, temporarily pushing the gap to 1 hour or 3 hours. Check the exact dates each spring and autumn.
Best Times to Meet
The 7-hour overlap runs from 11am to 6pm Cairo time and 9am to 4pm London time. Inside that 7-hour window, the cleanest slot is typically 11am to 1pm Cairo (9am to 11am London): Cairo colleagues are settled into the day and London has the full morning ahead. Avoid scheduling across Cairo's lunch hour if possible. During Ramadan, Cairo offices commonly close at 3pm, which cuts the practical window considerably and makes an earlier slot, say 11am-1pm Cairo, even more important.
Working Hours Overlap Explained
Cairo operates on Africa/Cairo (currently UTC+3). London operates on Europe/London (currently UTC+1). The table below maps a standard 9:00 AM–6:00 PM day in Cairo to London's local time.
| Cairo time | London time | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 AM | 7:00 AM | London outside hours |
| 10:00 AM | 8:00 AM | London just starting |
| 11:00 AM | 9:00 AM | London in business hours |
| 12:00 PM | 10:00 AM | London in business hours |
| 1:00 PM | 11:00 AM | London in business hours |
| 2:00 PM | 12:00 PM | London in business hours |
| 3:00 PM | 1:00 PM | London in business hours |
| 4:00 PM | 2:00 PM | London in business hours |
| 5:00 PM | 3:00 PM | London in business hours |
| 6:00 PM | 4:00 PM | London in business hours |
Tips for Scheduling Across Cairo and London
- Cairo's working week ends Thursday; schedule any Friday deadline calls before Thursday 6pm Cairo time.
- During Ramadan, Cairo offices typically close at 3pm, so move recurring calls to 11am-1pm Cairo to stay safe.
- Both cities observe DST but changeover dates differ slightly: double-check the offset each spring and autumn.
- London finance teams sometimes take informal meetings between 5pm and 6pm, which falls after Cairo's working day ends.
- Coptic Christmas on 7 January is a Cairo public holiday; verify attendance before booking January meetings.
Public Holidays and Working Weeks
Cairo's working week runs Sunday to Thursday; London follows the standard Monday to Friday pattern. That means the only shared working days are Monday through Thursday. Cairo observes Revolution Day on 23 July and the movable Eid al-Fitr, while London's next fixed public holiday is Christmas Day on 25 December. Coptic Christmas on 7 January also affects Cairo-based staff. Any recurring series between the two cities should account for both calendars to avoid missed calls.