Ras Al Khaimah International Airport

Airport in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport
(Ra's al-Khaymah)

مطار رأس الخيمة الدولي

* IATA: RKT
* ICAO: OMRK

Summary
Airport type| Public
Operator| Department of Civil Aviation
Location| Ras al-Khaimah
Operating base for| Air Arabia
Time zone| UAE Standard Time (UTC+04:00)
Elevation AMSL| 29 m / 94 ft
Coordinates| 25°36′48″N 055°56′20″E﻿ / ﻿25.61333°N 55.93889°E﻿ / 25.61333; 55.93889
Website| www.rakairport.com
Map

RKT/OMRK

Location in the UAE

Runways
| Direction | Length  | Surface

|
|

m  | ft
16/34  | 3,760  | 12,336  | Asphalt

Sources: UAE AIP[1]

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (IATA: RKT, ICAO: OMRK) (Arabic: مطار رأس الخيمة الدولي) is an international airport located in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. The airport has two passenger terminal buildings as well as cargo, aircraft maintenance, and aviation training facilities.[2]

## History

[edit]

Terminal interior

In 1976, the airport was inaugurated by RAK ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi. In 2007, RAK Airways started operating as the national airline with a hub at the airport. It suspended regular operations in 2008 due to the global economic crisis. It relaunched in 2010 with new branding and management, but suspended operations permanently in 2013.[3][4][5]

In 2014, Air Arabia started its commercial flights to different destinations including Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh following the suspension of RAK Airways. Ras Al Khaimah was designated as a hub for Air Arabia for a period of ten years, extendable thereafter.[6]

Growing at 25% year-on-year in 2013 (albeit from a low base),[7] the airport was refocused with efforts to attract cargo business, in particular from establishments under the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone.[8]

## Airlines and destinations

[edit]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Ras Al Khaimah Airport:

### Passenger

[edit]

Airlines| Destinations

|

Air Arabia |  Cairo, Islamabad, Jeddah,[9] Kazan (begins 31 October 2025),[10] Kozhikode,[11] Lahore, Moscow–Domodedovo,[12] Peshawar, Tashkent,[13] Yekaterinburg (begins 27 October 2025)[10]
Air India Express |  Kannur,[14] Kozhikode, Lucknow[15]
IndiGo |  Hyderabad,[16] Kochi,[17] Mumbai

### Cargo

[edit]

Airlines| Destinations

|

IndiGo Cargo |  Kozhikode, Mumbai[18]

## Accidents and incidents

[edit]

* In July 1998, a Ukrainian Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane (registration UR-76424) took off whilst heavily overloaded. After slowly climbing to 180 metres (590 ft) the pilot received a GPWS warning, but then responded by descending the aircraft into the sea (CFIT), four minutes after take-off, and approximately 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) offshore. All 8 crew members on board died.[19][20]

## In popular culture

[edit]

In 2015, Ras Al Khaimah Airport served as the set for the filming of the Hindi film Airlift starring Akshay Kumar.[21]

## See also

[edit]

* Transport in UAE
* List of the busiest airports in the Middle East

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ United Arab Emirates AIP Archived 30 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine (login required)
2. ^ "Ras Al Khaimah International Airport-Management Team". rakairport.com.
3. ^ "RAK Airways takes to the skies at long last". Arabian Business.
4. ^ "RAK Airways: A timeline". Arabian Supply Chain.
5. ^ "RAK Airways Not Coming Back". Gulf News. 30 January 2014.
6. ^ "Air Arabia to become official carrier of Ras Al Khaimah". Arabian Business.
7. ^ "RAK airport woos European carriers".
8. ^ "Ras Al Khaimah International Airport - AirlinesHQ.com". airlineshq.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
9. ^ "Air Arabia Dec 2024 Ras al Khaimah Network Expansion". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
10. ^ a b "Air Arabia Expands Ras Al Khaimah-Russia Network in NW25". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
11. ^ "Air Arabia".
12. ^ "Air Arabia expands Ras Al Khaimah network with the launch of new route to Moscow". Air Arabia. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
13. ^ Air Arabia adds Tashkent to network from Ras Al Khaimah
14. ^ Ameya (19 March 2024). "Air India Express adds international flights this summer, focus on Kannur". Network Thoughts. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
15. ^ "Air India Express 2Q24 Middle East Network Additions". AeroRoutes. 15 April 2024. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
16. ^ "INDIGO ADDS HYDERABAD – RAS AL KHAIMAH SERVICE IN LATE-2Q23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
17. ^ Liu, Jim (3 March 2025). "IndiGo March 2025 International Network Additions". AeroRoutes.
18. ^ "A look at routes where IndiGo has deployed its freighters". JetArena. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
19. ^ "July 13, 1998: Cargo plane crashes off Ras Al Khaimah | Today History – Gulf News". 12 July 2018.
20. ^ "Accident Ilyushin Il-76MD, UR76424, Monday 13 July 1998". Aviation-Safety Network. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
21. ^ "Akshay Kumar shoots film in Ras Al Khaimah". Deccan Chronicle. 20 March 2015.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* "RKT Ra'sal-Khaymah Airport". FlightStats. Retrieved 20 August 2012.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

* Official website

Portals:

* United Arab Emirates
* Aviation

* v
* t
* e

Airports in the United Arab Emirates

Major international|

* Abu Dhabi
* Dubai–International
* Sharjah

Minor international|

* Al Ain
* Dubai–Al Maktoum
* Fujairah
* Ras Al Khaimah

Domestic|

* Dalma
* Sir Bani Yas

Unscheduled|

* Al Bateen
* Al Jazeirah
* Al Saqr Field
* Arzanah
* Buhasa
* Das Island
* Futaysi
* Jebel Dhana
* Qarnayn
* Zirku

Military|

* Al Dhafra
* Al Minhad
* Al-Safran/Liwa
* Abu Dhabi Northeast

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