Getting online in United Arab Emirates
A travel eSIM is a data plan you install before departure and switch on when you land, so your phone is online in United Arab Emirates without roaming charges and without hunting for a SIM counter at arrivals. Your home number stays where it is — the eSIM sits alongside it.
See United Arab Emirates eSIM plans
Plans, prices, data amounts and validity are set by our partner and shown on their own page. We do not repeat them here because they change and we do not measure them.
Where you land in United Arab Emirates
These are the airports in United Arab Emirates with scheduled flights and an IATA code. The minute you step off one of them is the minute an eSIM stops being optional.
| Airport | Code | City |
|---|---|---|
| Al Ain International Airport | AAN | Al Ain |
| Al Maktoum International Airport | DWC | Dubai(Jebel Ali) |
| Dubai International Airport | DXB | Dubai |
| Ras Al Khaimah International Airport | RKT | Ras Al Khaimah |
| Sharjah International Airport | SHJ | Sharjah |
| Zayed International Airport | AUH | Abu Dhabi |
Where you will actually use the data
The largest towns and cities near those arrival airports, by population (GeoNames). Coverage is the partner's to state, not ours — this is simply where travellers in United Arab Emirates tend to be.
- Dubai3 790 000 people
- Abu Dhabi1 807 000 people
- Sharjah1 800 000 people
- Al Ain City846 747 people
- Ajman490 035 people
- Dayrah400 000 people
- Ras Al Khaimah351 943 people
- Jebel Ali210 000 people
Before you buy
Two things worth checking on your own handset, because they decide whether any eSIM works at all: the phone must be eSIM capable, and it must be carrier unlocked. Most phones sold in the last few years are both; phones bought on a carrier contract often are not until the contract ends.
We do not test handsets and cannot tell you whether yours qualifies — your phone's settings screen and your carrier can.