Air Arabia launches daily flights on new European route from Sharjah

New daily service expands budget travel options from Sharjah this summer

Last updated:
Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor
Air Arabia said that the maximum discount per passenger, per flight direction, varies by route and fare type.
Air Arabia said that the maximum discount per passenger, per flight direction, varies by route and fare type.
Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Dubai: Travellers from the UAE will soon have another low cost option to Europe after Air Arabia announced the launch of a new daily international route from Sharjah to Rome, strengthening connectivity and offering more affordable travel choices for residents.

The new non stop service will begin on July 1, 2026, marking a further expansion of the airline’s European network and increasing direct access to one of the continent’s busiest travel corridors.

The route will be operated using the Airbus A320neo aircraft, designed to deliver improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions and enhanced passenger comfort.

Growing demand for affordable travel

The latest expansion reflects strong demand among UAE residents for direct budget travel options to major European destinations, particularly during peak summer and holiday seasons.

“We are pleased to further expand our European footprint with the launch of daily flights to Rome, one of the world’s most iconic and culturally significant cities,” said Adel Al Ali, Group CEO of Air Arabia. “Expanding our presence in Italy reflects our continued commitment to offering convenient, direct connectivity to key international destinations while delivering reliable, value driven travel options to our customers.”

Strengthening UAE Europe links

The new service also supports growing tourism and trade ties between the UAE and Italy, while increasing travel flexibility for both leisure and business passengers.

“We are pleased to welcome Air Arabia, a new carrier that will connect Rome to the United Arab Emirates,” said Ivan Bassato, Chief Aviation Officer of Aeroporti di Roma. “The new service to Sharjah will further expand and diversify the offering to the Arabian Peninsula, reaffirming the strategic importance of the Roman market and strengthening Fiumicino’s international standing.”

With this addition, Air Arabia will operate daily non stop services to two Italian destinations from Sharjah, reinforcing its push to expand affordable travel access between the UAE and Europe.

Nivetha Dayanand
Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor
Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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