In general, the water in the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. It contained, according to Alois Negrelli's plans, no lock systems, with seawater flowing freely through it. The original canal featured a single-lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass and the Great Bitter Lake. In 2020, more than 18,500 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 51.5 per day). Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 mi) including its northern and southern access-channels.
The canal extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. It offers vessels a direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500 mi), or 10 days at 20 knots (37 km/h 23 mph) to 8 days at 24 knots (44 km/h 28 mph). The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869. In 1858, Ferdinand de Lesseps formed the Suez Canal Company for the express purpose of building the canal. The canal is a route of trade between Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal ( Arabic: قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, Qanātu as-Suways) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia.