In an indication of post-pandemic recovery, and a promising travel season ahead, Sharjah Airport served more than seven million passengers with more than 57,000 aircraft movements in 2021.
Consistent with 2019 figures, the airport had approximately 1.2 million passengers in December.
Meanwhile, the volume of cargo last year crossed 140,717 tonnes, while the volume of sea-air cargo reached 18,696 tonnes, representing a 22.27 percent increase from 2019.
“Despite various challenges, Sharjah Airport registered numerous achievements in 2021, reinforcing its position in the global aviation industry. These achievements can be attributed to the vision of Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and the guidance of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of the Executive Council, that have shaped it to become one of the best regional airports,” said Ali Salim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Airport Authority.
This comes in as the ongoing comprehensive expansion project aims to raise the airport’s capacity to 20 million passengers, with an estimated total area of more than 120,000 square metres. This project would cost up to AED1.9bn and includes a complete expansion of the passenger terminal to increase capacity and ensure smooth movement through the airport.
“The year 2021 was exceptional, as we managed to enhance travel flow and passenger comfort, and continued to work on development and modernisation projects and prepare for the overall recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Faisal Bin Saoud Al Qassimi, director of Sharjah Airport Authority.
To meet the increasing demand in travel to and from Sharjah, the airport inaugurated flights from various new airlines, including Indian airlines Vistara and Go First, Russia’s Aeroflot, Qatar Airways, Anadolu Jet- a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, Pakistan’s SereneAir, Syrian Cham Wings Airline, Ukraine’s Bees Airline, Oman Air, Salam Air from Muscat, “Fly Egypt” from Egypt and Kazakhstan’s FlyArystan.
Last year also saw the opening of a new branch of the Sharjah Airport Travel Agency in Dubai, to help meet the growing demand for services from individuals and companies. The agency has also signed a travel agent agreement with Pakistan International Airlines, allowing it to provide ticket sales services through the airline.
In 2021, Sharjah Airport renewed the ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) for the second consecutive year, becoming the first in the country and the seventh in the Middle East to reach this milestone.
It was also awarded a Gold Accreditation as a friendly entity for people with mobility disabilities from the World Federation for the Handicapped, becoming the fourth airport in the world to receive this certificate.
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