Sharjah International Airport was opened on January 1st 1977 and is located 10 km (6.21 miles) south-east of the center of the city and about 15 km (9.31 miles) from Dubai. The airport is located opposite to the Sharjah University and is positioned at latitude 25º 19 N, longitude 55º 30 E. Sharjah was the first emirate to contain an airfield, which was build in 1932 by Imperial Airways (British Airways) as a stopover for flights to India and Australia. The airfield was handed over to the Sharjah government when the British influence left the area in 1968.

Airport Facilities
Sharjah Intl. Airport has only one runway which extends 4km (2.5 miles), 1 passenger terminal, 4 cargo terminals, 25 aircraft stands, and 8 departure gates. The passenger terminal contains prayer areas, a travel agency, internet facilities, restaurants, postal services, money exchanges, a medical clinic, and duty free shopping. The airport also started providing a special attention service from 2001 called Hala Services. Though the airport handles passenger aircrafts, the airport is known more for its air cargo facilities.

Transportation from the Airport
For easy mobility to town after arriving at the airport, there are three paid means of transportation. The Sharjah Airport City-Link bus service runs 6 to 12 times a day, transporting passengers from the arrivals exit to the center of the city for a fee of Dhs. 3 (US$ 1). It is also possible to take an airport taxi, which normally costs around Dhs. 20 (US$ 6), and be driven to your desired destination, or you can rent a car from any of the car rental/hire companies that have offices at that airport.

Hotels and Accommodations
The Sharjah Airport Hotel [+971 (6) 558 1110] is located within the airport premises. It is a 3 star hotel with 100 rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel provides a free pickup and drop-off service from the airport. All other hotels are found in the main city area, which can be reached by any of the transportation means mentioned above.

Other Information
The Sharjah International Airport has a travel agency division known as Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), which has offices in the airport [+971 (6) 508 4080] and the city center [+971 (6) 561 8888]. The airport also contains a freezone on its premises, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone).

Notes: The information included on this page is as accurate as possible at the time of its writing. The variants of the word Sharjah are Ash Shariqah and Sharja.