Sharjah International Airport

Sharjah International Airport (Arabic: مطار الشارقة الدولي‎) (IATA: SHJ, ICAO: OMSJ) is an airport located 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) east south east of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It is spread over an area of 15,200,000 m² (3,800 acres).

Overview

Sharjah Airport is the third largest Middle East airfreight hub in cargo tonnage, according to official 2015 statistics from Airports Council International. Ground services company, Sharjah Aviation Services, handled 586,195 tonnes in 2015 – a 16.1% increase year on year. It has one passenger terminal with an area of 125,000 m² (1,350,000 sq ft).

Sharjah International Airport is home base of the low-cost carrier Air Arabia. The headquarters of Air Arabia is in the Sharjah Freight Center, on the property of the airport in Sharjah, UAE. The center is an old cargo terminal.

History

The current Sharjah Airport was built in the 1970s and was opened on 1 January 1977. It replaced RAF Sharjah which was closer to the city and was opened in 1932. It was the first airport in UAE and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, for use by Imperial Airways, and was subsequently used by the RAF until 14 December 1971. The reason for the move was development pressure from the city of Sharjah. The old airport's runway is now part of King Abdul Aziz Street in the city centre.