Solar Impulse 2 reaches Cairo after flying over Egyptian pyramids

Solar Impulse 2, the solar-powered plane that is on a world tour, has landed in Cairo – its penultimate stop – after flying over the world famous pyramids of Egypt. The journey from Seville, Spain, to Cairo took around two days and an hour-and-a-half.

André Borschberg, the co-founder, CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse 2, said on Twitter that the final approach to Cairo was "a bit tough", but he made it. This was his last flight on the adventure trip on board the fuel-free plane that is spreading the message of clean energy.

The plane will now set off for its starting point, Abu Dhabi, where its fuel-free round-the-world tour will culminate after more than a year. Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, a Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut, piloted the adventure tour as part of the "future is clean" campaign.

The tour began on 9 March, 2015, and was initially expected to complete by August 2015. So far on the circumnavigation tour, the plane has traversed through Asia and the Atlantic, making a total of 17 stops, with its longest journey being from Japan to Hawaii.

Construction of the Swiss-made aircraft that carries the registration number HB-SIB began in 2011. The project was completed in 2014 and on 2 June, 2014, it took its first test flight from Payerne Air Base. The 73.5-ft long aircraft has a maximum speed of 140km per hour.