It is not unusual for ships to have to queue up to transit the Suez Canal since parts of the canal are very narrow and only allow one-way traffic. Over 17,000 ships each year pass through the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, which means that almost 50 ships per day make the transit. Total revenues are over $3 billion per year, making the Suez Canal a major revenue source for Egypt.
In comparison, the Panama Canal has about 14,000 ships per year and over $1 billion in revenue. Large oil tankers are the biggest money makers for the Suez Canal. Without locks, nothing prevents very large ships from passing through the Suez Canal. Because of the locks in the Panama Canal, it cannot accommodate these mega-ships. Even many cruise ships are too small to pass through the Panama Canal locks.