Ras Al Khaimah International Airport

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (IATA: RKT, ICAO: OMRK) (alternatively Ra's al-Khaymah, Arabic: مطار رأس الخيمة الدولي) is an international airport located in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab Emirates 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) south[1] of Ras Al Khaimah, on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The airport has two passenger terminal buildings as well as cargo, aircraft maintenance, and aviation training facilities.[2]

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

مطار رأس الخيمة الدولي
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorDepartment of Civil Aviation
LocationRas al-Khaimah
Hub forAir Arabia
Time zoneUAE Standard Time (UTC+04:00)
Elevation AMSL94 ft / 29 m
Coordinates25°36′48″N 055°56′20″E
Websiterakairport.com
Map
RKT is located in United Arab Emirates
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Location in the UAE
RKT is located in Persian Gulf
RKT
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RKT (Persian Gulf)
RKT is located in Indian Ocean
RKT
RKT
RKT (Indian Ocean)
RKT is located in Middle East
RKT
RKT
RKT (Middle East)
RKT is located in West and Central Asia
RKT
RKT
RKT (West and Central Asia)
RKT is located in Asia
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RKT (Asia)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 3,760 12,336 Asphalt
Sources: UAE AIP[1]

History
Terminal interior

In 1976, the airport was inaugurated by the long-time ruler, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi. Unlike Dubai International Airport, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport did not develop into an international or regional aviation hub.

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 has been designated as an hub for Air Arabia for a period of ten years, extendable thereafter.[6]

The airport was the second among Arab states of the Persian Gulf to secure the ISO 9001: 2000 accreditation for quality management.[7] Currently, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is being refocused with efforts to attract cargo business, in particular from establishments under the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone.[8]

Airlines and destinations

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

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Air Arabia Cairo, Dhaka,[9] Islamabad, Jeddah,[10] Lahore, Peshawar
Air India Express Kozhikode
Atlantic Airways Charter: Copenhagen (begins 18 December 2023)[11]
IndiGo Hyderabad,[12] Mumbai[13]
Qatar Airways Doha (resumes 1 November 2023)[14]
SmartLynx Airlines Seasonal charter: Munich (begins 11 October 2023)[15]
Smartwings Seasonal charter: Prague

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
IndiGo CarGo Mumbai[16]

Statistics
Annual passenger traffic at RKT airport. See Wikidata query.

Accidents and incidents
  • In July 1998, a Ukrainian Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane took off from the airport and crash landed into the sea nearby. All 8 crew members on board died.[17]

In 2015, Ras Al Khaimah Airport served as the set for the filming of the Hindi film Airlift starring Akshay Kumar.[18]

References

Citations
  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 resumes Ras al Khaimah operations from mid-Oct 2020 | Routes".
  10. "Air Arabia".
  11. https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230922-rcnw23rktssh
  12. "INDIGO ADDS HYDERABAD – RAS AL KHAIMAH SERVICE IN LATE-2Q23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  13. Joshi, Gaurav (23 September 2022). "UAE Expansion: IndiGo Starts New Direct Mumbai-Ras Al Khaimah Flights". Simple Flying. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  14. "Qatar Airways confirms major network expansion and resumption of flights to 11 cities". Aviacionline.com. 7 March 2023.
  15. "SmartLynx connects Munich with Ras Al Khaimah for FTI" (in German). 16 March 2023.
  16. "A look at routes where IndiGo has deployed its freighters". JetArena. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  17. "July 13, 1998: Cargo plane crashes off Ras Al Khaimah | Today History – Gulf News". 12 July 2018.
  18. "Akshay Kumar shoots film in Ras Al Khaimah". Deccan Chronicle. 20 March 2015.

Bibliography

Media related to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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