Luxor International Airport sits a few kilometers east of the Nile River, at Luxor, the modern Egyptian city built over the ruins of ancient Thebes. The airfield itself dates back to the middle of the twentieth century. It grew steadily alongside Egypt's Nile cruise and monument tourism business, serving visitors headed to Karnak, the Temple of Luxor. The Valley of the Kings on the west bank.
For decades it stayed a fairly small, quiet airport, handling EgyptAir domestic flights and only a trickle of European charter flights each season. A major expansion finished in the 2000s added a large modern terminal and an upgraded airfield. This let the airport handle far more passengers each year. Finally let large charter jets arrive directly from Europe instead of routing through Cairo first.
Traffic peaked in the years before 2011. It collapsed after the Egyptian revolution, and again after the unrest of 2013, when European tour operators paused their programs. Recovery has been slow but steady. Returning European routes have helped, along with Nile cruise packages that fly passengers in at Luxor and out at Aswan. Egypt has pushed to sell Upper Egypt as a year round spot, not just a winter one.