Sharjah Airport has issued an advisory urging all departing passengers to reach the terminal at least three hours before take-off during the extended four-day New-Year weekend that begins on Thursday, 1 January. The warning comes as the airport experiences record winter-holiday volumes, with Air Arabia expected to operate more than 160 departures a day.
The emirate’s weekend runs Friday–Sunday, but the public holiday on Thursday effectively creates a four-day break, compressing outbound demand into a 72-hour window. Check-in halls are already operating near capacity during peak evening waves, and landside traffic is backing up onto Al Dhaid Road.
For travelers looking to streamline their journey further, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) can arrange UAE entry visas, transit permits, and other travel documentation in advance, helping passengers bypass additional paperwork on departure day and proceed straight to the airline counters.
![Sharjah Airport tells passengers to arrive three hours early ahead of New-Year rush]()
To ease congestion, Air Arabia passengers can use the Sharjah city check-in facility up to 24 hours before departure, completing immigration pre-clearance and bag-drop so they can proceed directly to passport control on the day of travel. Families with strollers and mobility-impaired travellers are being advised to allocate additional time for security screening.
Corporate mobility teams moving staff to project sites in Dhaka, Kochi and Cairo—the busiest routes out of Sharjah—should factor potential curb-to-gate times of up to 120 minutes, versus the typical 60. Accommodation providers near the airport report a surge in last-minute bookings from travellers opting to stay overnight to beat morning traffic.
Sharjah Airport handled 13.1 million passengers last year and is operating at 120 per cent of design capacity. A terminal expansion due in 2027 will add a dedicated business-class wing and raise throughput to 25 million, but until then travellers face seasonal bottlenecks.
The emirate’s weekend runs Friday–Sunday, but the public holiday on Thursday effectively creates a four-day break, compressing outbound demand into a 72-hour window. Check-in halls are already operating near capacity during peak evening waves, and landside traffic is backing up onto Al Dhaid Road.
For travelers looking to streamline their journey further, VisaHQ’s online platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) can arrange UAE entry visas, transit permits, and other travel documentation in advance, helping passengers bypass additional paperwork on departure day and proceed straight to the airline counters.
To ease congestion, Air Arabia passengers can use the Sharjah city check-in facility up to 24 hours before departure, completing immigration pre-clearance and bag-drop so they can proceed directly to passport control on the day of travel. Families with strollers and mobility-impaired travellers are being advised to allocate additional time for security screening.
Corporate mobility teams moving staff to project sites in Dhaka, Kochi and Cairo—the busiest routes out of Sharjah—should factor potential curb-to-gate times of up to 120 minutes, versus the typical 60. Accommodation providers near the airport report a surge in last-minute bookings from travellers opting to stay overnight to beat morning traffic.
Sharjah Airport handled 13.1 million passengers last year and is operating at 120 per cent of design capacity. A terminal expansion due in 2027 will add a dedicated business-class wing and raise throughput to 25 million, but until then travellers face seasonal bottlenecks.
