# Sharjah International Airport (SHJ)

> Sharjah, AE · IATA: SHJ · ICAO: OMSJ · Large Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `SHJ` |
| ICAO | `OMSJ` |
| City | Sharjah |
| Country | AE |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 34 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | 25.32860, 55.51720 |

## Description

The code SHJ has been in timetables longer than any other in the Gulf: Sharjah opened in 1932 as an Imperial Airways staging post on the route to India, the region's first airport. Today Sharjah International is a focused cargo specialist, handling 204,323 tonnes in 2025 (up from 195,909 in 2024), with a terminal expansion partially commissioned in late 2025 that doubles capacity to 250,000 tonnes a year. The airport is home base of low-cost carrier Air Arabia and a well-established freighter charter market, served by more than a dozen scheduled and charter cargo operators. Handling is provided by Sharjah Aviation Services, and the SAIF Zone free trade area with bonded warehousing sits directly on the airport perimeter. For sea-air traffic the emirate offers Port Khalid and Hamriyah on the Gulf plus Khorfakkan on the Indian Ocean — the latter letting vessels skip the Strait of Hormuz entirely. As a lower-cost alternative to Dubai's mega-facilities, SHJ has carved out a solid niche in charter, project and transhipment cargo.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/sharjah-international-airport-shj](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/sharjah-international-airport-shj)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/sharjah-international-airport-shj](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/sharjah-international-airport-shj)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/sharjah-international-airport-shj/llm-summary*