Published: 2026-08-25
Air Arabia is adding a fourth Polish city to its map. On 2026-08-25 the Sharjah-based low-cost carrier announced a new non-stop service between Sharjah International Airport and Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport on the Baltic coast, starting 2026-12-14 with five flights a week. The announcement comes just four days after the Katowice launch (four weekly flights from 2026-12-17), so by mid-December Air Arabia will connect Sharjah with Warsaw Chopin, Krakow, Katowice and Gdansk. Bookings are already open through the airline’s website, call centre and travel agencies. For UAE businesses this is the first budget non-stop link to northern Poland: the country’s main seaport, its shipbuilding and offshore cluster and the Tri-City agglomeration of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot.
What Air Arabia announced
The parameters of the new route, as published by Air Arabia on 2026-08-25:
- Route: Sharjah (SHJ) to Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), non-stop in both directions.
- Frequency: five flights a week.
- Start date: 2026-12-14.
- Aircraft: Air Arabia operates a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 narrow-bodies on its European network.
- Sales: open from day one via airarabia.com, the call centre and travel agencies.
Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia, said the carrier is pleased to add Gdansk to its growing network in Poland as it continues to expand across Europe, and that the five weekly non-stop flights will support both leisure and business travel while contributing to the growing ties between the UAE and Poland. Tomasz Kloskowski, President of the Management Board of Gdansk Airport, expects the route to give a significant boost to the regional economy: it will facilitate business cooperation and trade relations, help attract investors from the Middle East to Pomerania and support tourism in both directions. He added that previous experience shows tourists from the Gulf generate significant value for the local tourism industry, and that with its cooler summers and access to the Baltic Sea the Tri-City and Pomerania are becoming increasingly attractive holiday destinations for these travellers.
Flight schedule from 2026-12-14
Air Arabia has published the full timetable (all times local):
| Flight | From | Departs | To | Arrives | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G9 626 | Sharjah | 08:15 | Gdansk | 12:15 | Wed, Fri, Sun |
| G9 627 | Gdansk | 13:05 | Sharjah | 22:25 | Wed, Fri, Sun |
| G9 628 | Sharjah | 16:00 | Gdansk | 20:00 | Mon, Sat |
| G9 629 | Gdansk | 20:50 | Sharjah | 06:10 next day | Mon, Sat |
The pattern is convenient for a working week. A Sunday morning departure from Sharjah lands in Gdansk at lunchtime; the Wednesday or Friday afternoon flight back arrives in the Emirates the same evening. The Monday and Saturday evening rotations return overnight, landing in Sharjah at 06:10, which lets a traveller go straight to a morning meeting in Sharjah or Dubai.
Fourth Polish city: what the network looks like in December 2026
Poland has quietly become Air Arabia’s most densely covered country in Central Europe, and December 2026 is the month when the picture is completed:
- Warsaw Chopin and Krakow are already served non-stop from Sharjah.
- Gdansk starts on 2026-12-14 with five weekly flights.
- Katowice starts on 2026-12-17 with four weekly flights, as we covered in our review of the new Sharjah-Katowice route.
- In Germany, daily Sharjah-Frankfurt flights begin 2026-12-15, joining the daily Munich service that has operated since 2025-12-15.
- The wider European map from Sharjah now includes Milan Bergamo, Vienna, Athens, Prague, London Gatwick and Rome.
Four cities in one country means the airline is no longer serving a single capital-to-capital corridor but the whole Polish market: the capital, the south (Krakow and Katowice) and now the north. Passengers from Pomerania will connect in Sharjah to Air Arabia’s network across the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, routes that previously required a transfer in Warsaw, Istanbul or Doha.
Why Gdansk: Poland’s gateway to the Baltic
Gdansk is a different kind of city from Warsaw or Krakow. It is Poland’s principal seaport and the centre of the Tri-City agglomeration with Gdynia and Sopot, a coastal region of roughly a million residents. The Port of Gdansk hosts the largest container terminal on the Baltic Sea and is one of the main entry points for goods moving between Asia, the Gulf and Central Europe. The city’s shipyards, famous for the Solidarity movement of the 1980s, today anchor a cluster of shipbuilding, offshore-wind and marine-engineering companies, while the Tri-City has grown into one of Poland’s largest IT and shared-services hubs. Gdansk Airport is one of the busiest regional airports in the country.
For UAE companies this translates into three practical use cases:
- Logistics and trade. UAE trading houses and logistics operators working the Asia-Europe corridor get a direct link to the Baltic’s largest container port and to the rail and road network into Poland, the Baltic states and Scandinavia.
- Sourcing and engineering. Shipbuilding, offshore structures, yachts, furniture, food and amber are the region’s export specialities. A five-weekly non-stop flight makes supplier visits and quality inspections a two-day trip rather than a week.
- Talent and inbound investors. The Tri-City’s IT and engineering companies are a natural hiring pool for UAE firms, and Pomeranian entrepreneurs exploring the Gulf gain a budget route that lands them 15 minutes from Sharjah’s free zones and about half an hour from Dubai’s business districts.
What it means for UAE business and relocation from Poland
The UAE keeps gaining popularity among Polish and wider Central European founders: zero personal income tax, a 9 percent corporate tax with generous free zone regimes, banking in a stable currency and residency visas tied to company ownership. The practical barrier has never been paperwork, it has been the cost and time of staying connected to home operations. Every new direct route lowers that barrier. With Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice and Gdansk all linked to Sharjah, a founder from almost anywhere in Poland can run a UAE company with regular short trips, keeping the Polish business and the family within a single direct flight.
The timing also matters. Air Arabia’s winter expansion, Gdansk from 2026-12-14, Frankfurt from 2026-12-15 and Katowice from 2026-12-17, lands just before the peak Gulf tourism season and the start of the corporate year, when many European entrepreneurs finalise plans for international structures. Five flights a week are enough to build a workable commute: fly out after the weekend, spend two or three days in the Emirates, return home within the same week. And for Gulf residents the airport chief’s point about cooler summers is a real one: the Baltic coast in July is a 25-degree escape from a 45-degree Dubai.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital works with founders and investors who use the UAE as their base for international business, including clients with active operations in Central and Eastern Europe. We handle company registration in UAE free zones and mainland, including Sharjah free zones located minutes from the airport, typically within 1-2 weeks, and we arrange work visas and UAE residency for shareholders, employees and their families. If your business connects the Gulf with Poland, the Baltic states or the wider EU, we will help you pick the right jurisdiction, open the corporate bank account and build a structure that works on both ends of the route. One point of contact, fixed fees, realistic timelines.
Conclusion
Gdansk is the fourth Polish city on Air Arabia’s map and the first on the Baltic coast. From 2026-12-14 five weekly non-stop flights will connect Sharjah with Poland’s main seaport, its shipbuilding and IT cluster and a summer destination for Gulf travellers. Together with Katowice three days later, December 2026 turns Poland into Air Arabia’s best-connected market in Central Europe, and gives businesses on both sides of the route a cheap, predictable way to meet in person.
FAQ
When do Air Arabia’s Sharjah-Gdansk flights start?
Non-stop flights between Sharjah and Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport start on 2026-12-14 with five flights a week: Sharjah departures at 08:15 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and at 16:00 on Monday and Saturday. Tickets are already on sale on the Air Arabia website, through the call centre and travel agencies.
Which Polish cities does Air Arabia serve from Sharjah?
From December 2026 Air Arabia serves four Polish cities non-stop from Sharjah: Warsaw Chopin, Krakow, Gdansk (from 2026-12-14, five weekly) and Katowice (from 2026-12-17, four weekly). Poland becomes the airline’s best-covered market in Central Europe.
How long is the flight from Sharjah to Gdansk?
According to the published timetable, the morning flight leaves Sharjah at 08:15 and lands in Gdansk at 12:15 local time; the afternoon flight departs 16:00 and arrives 20:00. Return flights leave Gdansk at 13:05 (arriving Sharjah 22:25) and at 20:50 (arriving 06:10 the next day).
What does the new route mean for UAE companies?
It creates a direct, affordable link between the UAE and northern Poland: the Baltic’s largest container port, the Tri-City’s shipbuilding, offshore and IT clusters and a pool of Pomeranian entrepreneurs and investors. Gdansk Airport expects the route to attract Middle Eastern investors to Pomerania and to grow tourism in both directions.
