Our member Jeremy and his father Paul visited Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT / OMRK) from Dubaï. The airport has a passenger terminal, a cargo terminal and an aircraft maintenance area. Currently, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is being rebranded within efforts to attract legitimate cargo, in particular from establishments under the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone and also passengers traffics mostly charter services. This airport is good if you spend times in Dubai or around that you can managed to go to RKT for a half of day for a ramp tour. Daniel went to visit RKT to take the opportunity to catch some of the Spicejets flights that were operating hajj flights from India to Saudi Arabia via RKT.

The most interesting stuff at RKT are all the stored aircraft. It still have some scheduled flights mainly by Air Arabia as well as some charter flights in the winter from Europe (Luxair, Smartwings). But you could be happy to shot lots of Tristar (5x), DC-8 (7x), some Ilyushin 76 (4x), Antonov 12 (1x), CRJ-900 (2x), Boeing 732 (1x), Boeing 727 (1x), Boeing 743, DC-9…

Some information about the traffics could be reached by this link.

Written by Jeremy & Paul Denton (visited April 2013). Updated by Daniel Beliso (June 2023).

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
16/34	3’760m (12’336ft) Asphalt
Terminals	One for all pax flights.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not needed and not recommend to use as security is difficult here along the fence!
Car/Public Transport	Car is necessary to get to and from the airport.
Restrooms	Available only at the airport, nothing around.
Drinks/Food	Available only at the airport, nothing around.
Hotels	Nothing near the airport. Only at 20 minutes by car to Ras Al Kaimah city.
Season	Suggest October until April. Chance of dust sky during summer.
Runway Usage
16/34	Used in all direction, nothing special.

	Spot #1 – Ramp Tour
WHERE	From Dubaï, follow Ras Al Kaimah City, then when you see Ras Al Kaimah Airport, follow it. Park your car at RKT parking, next to the terminal. Then find inside the terminal, the office of the authority.
WHAT	You have the possibility to make a ramp tour of every area, the main important are the stored and the maintenance ramp. For 500AED, so around 125$ for the day. Please gather this information and send to these addresses: pro@rakdca.gov.ae / pr@rakdca.gov.ae Official Letter Passport photocopy with visa page Passport size personal photo Filling out temporary pass application Type of Camera Model of Camera Brand of Camera Serial Number if Camera The office is opened from Sunday until Thursday 08:00LT – 23:00LT PRO will be closed on public holidays & Fridays (for other inquiries kindly let us know in advance). BUT KEEP IN MINED THAT you have to get a letter from your company which you are working for. If you are not working in an aviation related company that will be hard to get access as they allow only people who are working in aviation. So you have to find someone which says that the company knows you since a long time, that you are doing pictures for an aviation company and you are working in freelance, etc. Try to asked to some aviation website in case as well.
TIME	All day tour but in 3 to 4 hours you’ll get every aircraft and theirs no much regular traffic there as well…
MISC.	No drinks and no foods will be available during the day. You have to take everything before you are doing the ramp tour or if you can’t wait, asked the driver to make a stop to the terminal for your request.
FOCAL LENGTH	18 – 250mm

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	Spot #2 – Arrivals runway 34 – Afternoon
WHERE	From Dubaï, follow Ras Al Kaimah City, then when you see Ras Al Kaimah Airport, follow it. When you pass throw the village of Mudfak, stay next to the roundabout.
WHAT	You can get all arrivals on runway 34 during afternoon
TIME	From around 13:00 until around 17:30
MISC.	Nothing, bring with you what you need (drinks & foods)…
FOCAL LENGTH	100 – 300mm

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	Spot #3 – Arrivals runway 34 – Morning
WHERE	The spot is on a dirt road intersection right off Airport Rd. which splits off into multiple other dirt paths. Same directions as spot #2 but take the first exit at the roundabout and drive for a bit after the approach path once you see the dirt path to your right on the curve. You can stay off to one side at the dirt intersection or drive further a bit on one of the paths, up to you.
WHAT	You can get all arrivals on runway 34 during mornings.
TIME	Summer: Sunrise until 11:30 Winter: Sunrise until 09:30
MISC.	There are no amenities nearby so bring what you need with you. Be very careful with police here as there are a number of police cars that roam around the airport perimeter. It’s recommended that you drive further up one of the dirt paths to stay out of view from the main road. Stay off to one side and don’t block the paths as some trucks drive here.
FOCAL LENGTH	120mm = A343

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	Spot #4 – Departures runway 34 – Morning
WHERE	The location is an abandoned gas station next to the airport fence. Drive on Airport Rd. past the airport terminal and take second exit at the roundabout with E18. Drive on E18 until you reach the first U-turn and drive back towards the airport until you see the abandoned gas station to your right just before the roundabout you took earlier and park round the back next to the airport fence.
WHAT	You can get all departures on runway 34 during mornings.
TIME	Summer: Sunrise until 11:30 Winter: Sunrise until 09:30
MISC.	DO NOT stay long at this place as it is right next to the airport fence and you will look very suspicious here especially with it being an abandoned place with usually no activity. There are no cameras here but either way this is a VERY risky spot. I can only recommend it as a hit and run spot. Stay as little as possible, photograph what you want to see, and leave. There are a bunch of police cars that will patrol around the airport (they will not enter the gas station) so be aware of this too. There are no amenities around so bring everything you need with you. For heavier departures, the barbed wire atop the fence will get in the way of your shots but shouldn’t be a major issue.
FOCAL LENGTH	250 – 350m

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