Cargo · Free zones
Ras Al Khaimah is an industrial emirate with an airport in it, not an airport with some industry nearby. Roughly a third of the emirate's economy is manufacturing, and the zones that manufacturing sits in are on the same side of the mountains as the runway.
What they are
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone was formed in 2017 by consolidating the former RAK Free Trade Zone and the RAK Investment Authority. If you hold an older licence or a legacy address, it is the same operator now.
Three industrial zones carry the emirate's manufacturing base. The areas below are the operator's own published figures.
| Zone | Approximate area |
|---|---|
| Al Ghail Industrial Zone | 28.2 km² |
| Al Hamra Industrial Zone | 9.3 km² |
| Al Hulaila Industrial Zone | 2.8 km² |
Why a shipper cares
For a manufacturer in Al Ghail or Al Hamra, RKT is the local field. Every kilometre of pre-carriage to Dubai or Sharjah is a kilometre paid twice — once in trucking, once in the hours it costs the schedule.
Clearance is not a daytime service here. For a plant running shifts, an aircraft on the ground at night is not a problem to be worked around.
Goods inside a free zone sit outside the customs territory until they are entered. Whether your movement is a re-export, a transfer between zones or a home-market entry decides the paperwork more than the flight does.
Free trailer parking at the freight centre suits a road-fed operation where the truck often arrives before the aircraft does.
Logistics geography
The emirate is served by the E311 Emirates Road corridor from Dubai, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain, and by the E89 and E18 from Fujairah and the east coast. Digdaga Road is the last leg to the airport from either direction.
| From → to | Distance | Typical drive |
|---|---|---|
| RKT → Ras Al Khaimah city | 18 km | ≈20 min |
| RKT → Dubai (DXB) | ≈98 km | 60–90 min, traffic dependent |
| Ras Al Khaimah ↔ Dubai city, via E11 | ≈110 km | 1.5–2 h |
| Sharjah (SHJ) → Ras Al Khaimah city | 60 km | ≈35 min |
| Abu Dhabi (AUH) → Ras Al Khaimah city | 250 km | ≈2.5 h |
Saqr Port is a bulk port in the same emirate with E311 access, and the sea-air proposition — ocean into the port, air out of the airport — is part of why the two sit in the same logistics conversation. Routing, transit times and the customs mechanics for a sea-air movement are handled case by case; the cargo desk will tell you whether your commodity suits it.
Building out
FedEx opened a customs clearance facility inside RAKEZ in January 2025, handling clearance for its express air and deferred road services for RAKEZ imports and exports. FedEx's own announcement does not tie the facility to the airport, and we are not going to imply that it does — but it tells you where the volume is going.
A 5,839 m² warehouse of roughly 12,000 m³ capacity is under development in Al Hamra, with completion announced for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Practical
Figures on this page come from the airport's own published material. Anything marked as not published has never been released in writing, and we would rather say so than guess. Ask the cargo desk and you will get a written answer for your specific shipment.