Press: Air Arabia connects Munich Airport with Sharjah

Munich Airport welcomed a new carrier to Bavaria’s international hub with Air Arabia’s inaugural flight on December 15, 2025. The Pan-Arabian airline is now offering daily service between Munich Airport and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Parallel to the time change at the end of October, the new winter flight schedule will take effect. From October 26, 2025, to March 28, 2026, travelers will have a total of 184 destinations in 68 countries to choose from. Eleven of these destinations are in Germany, 119 are medium-haul destinations, and 54 are long-haul destinations. A total of 81 airlines will operate these routes during the winter season.

Even before its official end on October 25, the summer flight schedule period at Munich Airport is already showing an impressive development. Between March 31 and October 12, the airport recorded a growth of five percent in both passenger numbers and flight movements compared to the previous year. 

Munich Airport has kicked off Oktoberfest season together with Bavarian Minister of State for Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Tourism Michaela Kaniber, Airport CEO Jost Lammers, and Lufthansa Hub Manager Heiko Reitz. In Terminal 2, traditional costume groups from the Isargau Trachtenverband e. V. and Lufthansa’s traditional costume crew got everyone in the mood for the 190th “Wiesn” (Oktoberfest).

Air Arabia, a major low-cost airline in the Middle East, has announced the launch of a new route between Sharjah and Munich, set to take off on December 15, 2025. 

Today marks the first time that the five-star airline Cathay Pacific will offer flights between Munich and Hong Kong. The renowned Asian airline will connect these economic powerhouses four times a week — on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays — using a modern, fuel-efficient Airbus A350-900. 

This year, Munich Airport is celebrating a special anniversary together with Continental Airlines, now part of United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and All Nippon Airways (ANA): For 15 years, a continuous partnership has existed with these three Star Alliance carriers. This collaboration reinforces Munich's position as a premium hub in international aviation.

Starting today, Kazakh airline SCAT is flying from Munich Airport to its hub in Shymkent [CIT]. Flights depart twice a week from Munich Airport – on Tuesdays at 11:35 a.m. and Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. Operating a Boeing 737-800, Kazakhstan's largest private airline reaches the city in the south of the country in around six hours. This connection adds another country to the Bavarian air traffic hub's global route network. 

The "Airports for Innovation" (A4I) initiative, which consists of ten leading international airport operators, announced the five winners of its first innovation program for startups today. The young companies were asked to develop solutions on the topics of "seamless travel experience", "sustainable aviation", "smart luggage revolution" and "AI-powered airports". GoodMaps won in the "Seamless Travel Experience" category. Janta Power succeeded in the "Sustainable Aviation" challenge, whereas the startup Pattern Labs was selected to pilot the "Smart Luggage Revolution" program. 

Lufthansa is flying an Airbus A380 to Denver, USA, for the first time today. This is also a premiere for the third largest airport in the US, as it is the first time the airport is welcoming an aircraft of this size. Denver is Munich Airport's sister airport, a decades-long partnership based on the close economic and cultural ties between Bavaria and Colorado.

Discover Airlines continues to expand its long-haul network from Munich Airport, with Calgary now added as a new destination. Canada's fourth-largest city, situated on the vast North American prairie, serves as an ideal gateway for outdoor adventures—thanks to its close proximity to Banff National Park in Alberta and the Rocky Mountains. Flights are scheduled to depart from Munich three times a week at 1:25 p.m.

Discover Airlines launched its second long-haul route from Munich on April 1: The airline is now servicing Windhoek in Namibia, following the launch of Orlando/Florida in March. The Lufthansa Group's leisure airline is thus expanding the Munich route network to Africa and developing its new long-haul base at Munich Airport.