SHJ-Spot1
Hamburg Finkenwerder – Spotting Guide
September 16, 2013
Dubai International Airport – Spotting Guide
February 27, 2014Sharjah Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
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- last modified on September 19, 2022
SHJ is not the biggest airport and the traffic is limited compared to the big brother Dubai, who is just a few of kilometres away. But there are a couple of unique airlines, especially cargo operators, who serve the airport and with only one active runway, its almost impossible to miss the flights.
Sharjah is located just 10 miles eastwards of Dubai and is known for its wide variety of different cargo operators. But the times have changed within the past years and the traffic has shrunken. But there are still plenty of operators like Singapore Cargo, UPS, Moalem Aviation and less known airlines. Sadly most traffic takes place during the night, but during the day you will be able to catch one of the mentioned operators too.
On the other side, Air Arabia is the main passenger carrier at SHJ and is responsible for ~80 percent of the traffic. Some others companies like FlyEgypt, Jordan Aviation, PIA, Air India Express, Air India, AirBlue, Indigo, Tarco Aviation, SereneAir, Qatar Airways, Belavia, Uzbekistan, ChamWings, SyrianAir etc. are using the facilities too. On the airport website, you will find the passenger arrivals/departures.
Spotting in Sharjah is much more tolerated than in Dubai but keep a low profile anyway at any of the spots outside of the park.
Written by Jan Seba, Jeremy Denton, Julian Mittnacht / Last Update: September 2022
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 12/30 | 4.063 m (13.320 ft) |
| Terminals | One for all flights |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not needed. |
| Car/Public Transport | Recommended or by taxi as it’s cheaper. |
| Restrooms | Very close to all spots. |
| Drinks/Food | Very close to all spots. |
| Hotels | The Centro Sharjah Hotel is located next to the terminal and the only one. |
| Season | We suggest November until March. Its just too hot in the summer. More charter traffic at the weekend |
| Runway Usage | |
| 12/30 | 30 is the main direction for take offs and arrivals |
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Spot #1 – National Park – 30 Arrivals |
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| WHERE | This is the main spot in Sharjah if the planes are arriving from the desert. Its pretty easy to find. Just follow the sings from Sharjah to the airport on the E88. Pass the airport and the Car Museum until you see the park on the right hand side. Exit the State Road and park your car next to the entrance. You have to pay a small entrance fee of 2 AED (0.5 USD) but you can enter and exit the park as often as you want at this day. After you have entered the park, you will see a big hill on the right side. Just climb up and you have reached the spot. |
| WHAT | As you stay on the top of the hill, its pretty easy to shot the aircraft over the trees. So you don´t have disturbing objects in front of you. At this place you can catch 30 arrivals only but this is the main direction for SHJ. 12 departures could be tricky as the aircraft can be too high. |
| TIME | Best light conditions in the winter are between 11 am and 6 pm. |
| MISC. | There is no sun protection on the top of the hill so be prepared! Restrooms are next to the entrance and a small snack bar (not open all the time) is just below the hill. |
| SECURITY | We had absolutely no problems with security or any other people during our visits. Still keep a low profile. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 250 mm for A320, 100 mm for a 747 |
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Spot #2 – Gas Station – Cargo Ramp |
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| WHERE | If you start at the airport follow the signs on the E88, heading to Sharjah downtown. After a couple of hundred meters you will see an entrance to a gas station. Ignore the gas pumps and head all the way to the fence next to the airport perimeter. Park your care there and climb up a smaller wall, so you can easily shot over the airport fence |
| WHAT | This is not really a long stay spot as you see only the cargo ramp. Its just possible to shot some cargo aircraft parked up there, thats all. |
| TIME | We recommend to visit this place in the late afternoon. Heat haze is a big problem there during the day! |
| MISC. | McDonalds and Restrooms are within the gas station. |
| SECURITY | You should not stay too long there as you are fully exposed, especially when you stay on the wall. Take the pictures and then drive away. But the workers usually don´t care about you. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 100-300 mm |
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Spot #3 – BOBA Tea – 30 Arrivals |
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| WHERE | Follow the sings from Sharjah to the airport on the E88. Pass the airport and the Car Museum until you see the park on the right hand side. Exit the State Road and park your car next to the entrance and stay inside. This spot is an alternative when the park is closed. |
| WHAT | Only arrivals on rwy30 are possible. Stay on your car with the window open, read a book and listen to the music |
| TIME | Best light conditions in the winter are between 11 am and 6 pm. |
| MISC. | There is only the petrol station with some drinks and foods at spot 2. Otherwise nothing else. |
| SECURITY | We had absolutely no problems with security or any other people during our visits. Still keep a low profile. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | B733 = 230mm / A320/B738 = 210mm |
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Spot #4 – Sharjah Golf Club |
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| WHERE | From Sharjah Airport on the highway E88 towards Sharjah city, exit at the sign “Souq Al Haraj for Cars”. At the roundabout take the first exit on the right and drive for a good 2/3 minutes on that road until you reach at the far end the roundabout you’ll face the Golf Club. Make a right turn, take the curve and the drive carefully slow there’s a small path between the trees to access that below overview pictures. |
| WHAT | Only arrivals on rwy12 are possible. |
| TIME | Morning spot until 09:30 latest depending on the month. |
| MISC. | There’s a petrol station indicated on the map at the “Cars Souq”, refer to the map. |
| SECURITY | We had absolutely no problems with security or any other people during our visits. Still keep a low profile. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | A320 = 150mm / A321/B738 = 135mm / B773 = 80mm |
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whats up with that air India a320
Thats because some of the Indian airports do not have the best infrastructure and pavement. So the weight can be shared onto 4 wheels instead of w wheels only. That allows Air India to operate at these airport even with bigger planes.
Below is taken from an article about. If you need to know more simply use google:
„Obviously, the aircraft gear serves a critical role. The A320 is not the heaviest aircraft in the world, but it does still carry substantial weight. During landing, taxi, or takeoff, this can cause stress on the runway pavement. As it turns out, some of India’s pavements have a lower classification number. The classification number gives details relating to the strength of the pavement and the amount of weight it can handle. Due to this lower classification number, the load of the aircraft has to be distributed across multiple wheels. Thus, some of Air India’s A320s have an additional set of wheels.“
Unfortunately the ramp tour is not available anymore
The photographer’s ramp pass is still available – I did it in November 2016. However, the price is now an astronomical 1,500AED.