The United Arab Emirates is a country where Russian citizens like to relax, their number has increased several times over the past five years. But the Emirates also provide transfer opportunities for flights to other countries. One of the relevant airports is located near the city of Sharjah.
Content of the material
- Transit through Sharjah Airport
- Transplant conditions
- What to do if the waiting time for a transfer takes two to three days
- Reviews
Transit through Sharjah Airport
The airport is located 13 km from the city of Sharjah, the center of the emirate of the same name. It is the main airport of Air Arabia and a major hub for connecting flights to other countries around the world, primarily to Africa and Asia. Those who fly to Nepal, Sri Lanka need to transfer at this airport.
A thousand flights and millions of passengers pass through Sharjah every year. There is one passenger and five cargo terminals. For those who are waiting for their connecting flight, the airport has excellent conditions:
- There are many cafes, you can have a quick and tasty snack.
- Duty-free shops. It will not be possible to buy alcohol, there is a strict dry law in the UAE. But the rest of the drinks, as well as food, are available.
- The lounges are very comfortable, and in business class they are simply magnificent.
There is free Wi-Fi at the airport, you can read the latest newspapers, drink a cup of coffee or tea.
Transplant conditions
For Russians in 2024, a visa is not needed to stay in the Emirates. When crossing the border, a stamp is put in the passport, and a citizen of the Russian Federation can stay in the UAE for 90 days.
When you have to wait for a longer flight and there is a need to go to the city, or you have to rent a hotel room, you also do not need to get a transit visa.
Citizens of the Russian Federation can stay in the Emirates for 90 days and move in any direction. For a transit passenger from Russia, it is not visa formalities that are important, but how to make the right transfer so as not to miss the plane.
- After arrival, all passengers are accommodated in the central hall of the second floor of the terminal.
- From here, the flow of people is directed to two exits (gates), each of which has numbers. Passengers pass through scanners, which are the main means of screening those arriving at the airport.
- After the buffer exits, the arrival person gets to the boarding pass check counters, and then to the waiting rooms, which are located on the first floor.
- Information about the connecting flight appears on a special board installed in the hall.
As soon as boarding is announced, you need to go through control, then find your gate, from where the boarding will be carried out (its number is indicated on the information board). After that, wait for your landing to continue the journey.
You can go through this control immediately upon arrival and wait for your aircraft in the area outside the control. But there are no duty-free shops or cafes where you can have a bite to eat.
When a passenger’s itinerary involves a transfer in Sharjah, Air Arabia marks the baggage as transit, and it follows up to the final destination of the journey. That is, there is no need to pick up your baggage and check it in again for your connecting flight.
People who have made a transfer in Sharjah more than once give the following useful tips that will make it easier to stay at the airport while waiting:
- There is no free water at the airport, as, for example, in Dubai, where special drinking water fountains are installed. You will have to buy.
- Even small banknotes are accepted in exchange offices.
- Officially, Wi-Fi is really free. But to connect to it, you will need a phone number registered in the UAE.
- There are sockets for charging electronic devices, but not so many. It is best to take a power bank with you.
- In the event that waiting for your connecting flight takes many hours, and there is no extra money for a hotel, you can sleep right on the floor of the airport. Given that it is tiled, you need to take a tourist mat with you in advance.
What to do if the waiting time for a transfer takes two to three days
There is an Airport Transit Hotel at the airport. For those passengers who have to wait for their flight for 12 hours or more (and they have the means), it makes sense to book a room in advance at this hotel. You can do this by sending an email to the hotel’s website and receiving a booking confirmation.
Room rates are as follows:
- 11,000 rubles per day (including meals)
- 7700 rubles for a stay of up to 12 hours (with meals).
- 4300 rubles per day without meals.
At check-in at the hotel, you will need to present a copy of your passport and a ticket for the connecting flight. The conditions are comfortable: comfortable beds, you can take a shower. However, there are no windows in the rooms, only artificial lighting.
Currently, most of the booking to such hotels is made via the Internet on the booking.com website. A confirmation is sent to the email address, which must be printed out and attached to the main documents. It is very important that the document indicates not only the name of the person who books the rooms, but also everyone who will live in them.
Reviews
There are more and more Russians who travel through Sharjah to other countries. And they share their experience of transplanting, as well as leave feedback on the conditions in which they find themselves. All comments can be conditionally reduced to several theses:
- The airport in Sharjah is small but clean, the food is mostly Indian cuisine.
- The transit zone has two levels (floors). If the passenger goes down, then he will not be allowed to go up, it remains only to wait for his departure.
- There are several gates and they are small. Therefore, you will have to stand during the control. Often there is a queue at the toilets.
- Things are checked twice: before registration and after it. Moreover, the inspection is quite thorough, sometimes they may ask you to take off your shoes.
- Due to the small size of the airport, the transit hall is always crowded with people, and sometimes there are not enough seats, you have to stand.
The problem of comfortable waiting is solved either by booking a hotel room or by placing in a business class lounge (1700 rubles / 3 hours). The latter has comfortable sofas, food, drinks, including alcoholic beverages (beer, wine).
Many passengers are worried about whether there will be enough time for a transfer when there are 1.5 hours left before the connecting flight. This is quite enough. Especially after Russians no longer need to obtain a visa in Sharjah.
After passing through control and inspection, you do not have to go up to the transit hall, but stay to wait for your flight in the passage hall before check-in.
