Air Arabia has added Russia's Sochi to its growing network in Russia.
The new non-stop flight will connect between Sharjah International Airport and Sochi International Airport with a frequency of three flights per week starting from June 27, 2025. The route will be serviced by its A320 aircraft.
Sochi is the sixth Russian city served by the airline directly from Sharjah, which includes Moscow, Kazan, Samara, Ufa, and Yekaterinburg. The airline also provides flights into Russia from its operating hubs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“This new connection reflects our commitment to providing customers with more travel options and contributing to the growth of tourism and trade between the two countries,” said Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Al Ali.
According to Russian news agency Tass, the UAE had completed negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), entering into an economic partnership agreement on December 11, 2024.
As part of the agreement, it is expected that trade between the counties will be significantly boosted, which is “already experiencing unprecedented growth” and will establish the foundation to develop cooperative relations.
According to data from Cirium, flights from UAE to Russia (one-way) have more than doubled in 2024 in comparison to 2019. Flights to Russia from the country totalled 5,679 flights with 1.3 million seats in 2019, versus 12,044 flights with 2.5 million seats in 2024. Flights and seats have seen incremental increases to Russia from the UAE since both recovered from the pandemic in 2022.