Sharjah prominent for bringing region's first airport into being

A lot has been talked about the region’s first airport established by the British in 1932 in Sharjah, which catered to airliners on the western Gulf air route to India

ABU DHABI

A lot has been talked about the region’s first airport established by the British in 1932 in Sharjah, which catered to airliners on the western Gulf air route to India.

However, an airstrip existed on Abu Dhabi’s Sir Bani Yas Island since 1930, which also served planes on the route between Britain, India and Australia, but has not gained much attention of history enthusiasts for the obvious reason it was mainly meant for military aircraft, not civilian flights, according to historians and documents accessed by Emirates News Agency (WAM) from the UAE’s National Archives.

SHARJAH AIRPORT AND FUEL TANK IN ABU DHABI IN 1932: An administration report for the Trucial Coast for the year 1932 says, “The chief event of the year was the securing of the Airport at Shargah (Sharjah) from the Shaikh (sic) of that place in July.” The report added that a fuel tank was established at Sir Bani Yas Island belonging to the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi in the same year.