London Gatwick Airport has continued to expand its long-haul network with the launch of Air Arabia’s new route to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The new route, which launched on Saturday (4 July), will operate twice daily per day using Airbus A321neo LR aircraft with 215 seats in a single economy class cabin.
Adel Al Ali, group CEO at Air Arabia, said: “The introduction of our new service to London Gatwick marks a significant addition to Air Arabia's growing international network and reinforces our dedication to offering customers greater travel choice, convenience and value.”
Jonny Macneal, Gatwick’s head of aviation development, added: “The twice-daily schedule offers excellent flexibility for passengers and strengthens our connectivity to the Middle East, while expanding the choice of destinations available from London Gatwick.”
The new Sharjah service is one of 11 new routes being launched from Gatwick in 2026. It follows the launch last month of Beijing Capital Airlines’ flights to Qingdao in eastern China.
Beijing Capital Airlines is operating the Gatwick-Qingdao service once per week during the summer 2026 season.
In another boost to Gatwick’s long-haul operations, Singapore Airlines increased frequencies from the airport to Singapore to double-daily from 3 July.
The carrier, which had previously operated 10 flights per week on the Gatwick-Singapore route, will offer two daily flights up to 29 August. It will then revert to 10 weekly services between 1 September and 24 October, before going double-daily again from 25 October.