Sharjah Airport

Not Verified | I frequently fly through Dubai, however the times of the flights and my schedule meant that I needed to find an alternative and flying through Sharjah using Air Arabia seemed to fit the bill. It was a first time for both the airline and airport. I was surprised how basic and how little the airport offered. It seemed like a cattle market with the airport staff homing in on anyone that had a carry-on trolley. I will do my best to avoid this airport in the future as a 3 hr layover was like torture as there are no amenities, no Wi-Fi and dirty toilets.

❎ Not Verified | The worst airport I have been into. Really bad services. Long queues, slow staff, waste of time. Even the airline they provide, Air Arabia to be specific has poorly behaved staff. The airport is somewhat similar to a fish market. I would never visit this place again.

❎ Not Verified | One of the worst airports I have seen or visited till date. Apart from the smart emigration, none of the things is in place. Long queues, pathetic restroom conditions, worst possible smoking areas and a duty-free which is like a market. One of the worst nightmares is this airport doesn't have free Wifi. Please do not book flights from this airport you will really have a hard time.

I have travelled several times via this airport because the flights are cheaper and am left with no options. The worst part is waiting for security clearance. Gates open only half an hour before departure. So after a quick immigration, you are left mostly standing. Or sitting on the floor. Poor capacity of lounges compared to the passenger traffic. Very limted displays of flight status. Poor cleanliness. You name it. One of the worst airports.

✅ Verified Review | Sharjah airport is small with not much walking to and from boarding gates. Sometimes it becomes crowded and unorganized with lots of passengers sitting on the floor waiting for their connecting onward flight. If separate halls are provided for such passengers, the airport would look much better. No priority was given to ladies with babies or elderly passengers at the Immigration, which is sometimes very crowded with limited counters. Its always better to opt for Hala service (Fast clearance) especially for the elderly or other needy people. For UAE residents, they have installed e-gates which allows quick computerized self immigration clearance. Kids play area is available in addition to food courts. There are very few jet-bridges and so most times it is bus service to and from aircraft. Duty free shopping is good. A pharmacy is available too. Entry and Exit are hassle free.

✅ Verified Review | Sharjah airport is the worst airport imaginable. There is no one at the airport to guide, no screens to display flight schedules, no one at the airport is aware when the next flight will come and whether it will go. At a specific point of time there are around 30 flights in the pending and no planes to departs. Some passengers had been waiting there for 3 days without food. On top of it you cannot escape the airport once security check is done. Workers are asleep on the floor. Zero cleanliness. If at all you get to see some staff they will talk extremely rudely to you.

Sharjah airport is closer to my destination than Dubai airport and there are cheap flights, however, waiting times to clear immigration are getting very long. Anyone trying to enter Sharjah airport as a tourist (not from a GCC country) is sent away from the immigration counters, sometimes to get police clearance, sometimes for an eyescan with waiting at each stage. The waiting seems to be completely unnecessary. Sometimes the policeman will just wait for up to an hour before getting out from behind his desk and telling the immigration clerk to let tourists through. The whole process can take 2 to 3 hours. It's difficult to understand why tourists have such a hard time entering Sharjah. It seems the authorities are deliberately trying to discourage tourists from using the airport and prompting them to use Dubai instead.

As I am currently living in Kuwait I fly regularly to Dubai for a short get away. I have never considered flying to Sharjah but when I realised how much cheaper the flights were and that Sharjah was a short distance away from Dubai I decided to give it a try. The airline I normally chose to fly Dubai takes us to Terminal 2. There is very little in T2 so I was pleasantly surprised that Sharjah airport outshone T2. Although Sharjah is dry you can buy alcohol from the duty free. Also on the return you can also buy it from some of the eateries! From deplaning to passport control it was very quick with no queues - staff are surely but it's the same in Kuwait and Dubai. When we returned to the airport for our departure we were able to use the self service check-ins as we only travelled with hand luggage so no queues. Then a short queue to passport control. All in all an enjoyable experience and I would definitely use Sharjah again.

After having flown to airports like IGI and Changi Sharjah airport definitely seems mismanaged. Rude staff dirty toilets and bad directions do not help but add to the woes. Immigration check takes a long time to clear considering the staff working there the IRIS scan counters function no differently. One of the worst airports I have flown to.

Every time I come at this airport it is getting worse especially about cleanliness. The public bus going to Dubai has been cancelled making it difficult to reach Al-Rashidiya in Dubai for a fair amount of money. This airport is loosing its standard rapidly.