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Friday 12 March 2010 (UAE)
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Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)
Tel +971-2-5757500 for flight enquiries to and from Abu Dhabi International Airport
Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA) IATA code AUH
Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA), first open in 1982, is one of the two international airports for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (the other one is in the city of Al Ain), is located about 30km from Abu Dhabi city center, and is the home of Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi carrier. With the opening of Terminal 3 in February 2009, total passenger capacity increased to 12 million per year. Since September 2006, ADIA has been managed and operated by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), a company incorporated in March 2006 and 100% owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. The IATA airport code for Abu Dhabi airport is AUH (not ABD or ADB - two common abbreviations for Abu Dhabi city). The acronym ADIA is also used for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a government sovereign wealth fund (SWF) that is supposedly the largest in the world, with several hundred billion dollars worth of assets.
Abu Dhabi Airport awards
- "New Airport Development" award given to Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Awards for Excellence (CAPA) in Beijing, China (09 November 2009 press release).
Abu Dhabi Airport expansion
Abu Dhabi airport expanded to 3 (or 4 if you count terminal 1A separately) terminals, and 2 runways in 2008/2009 as part of an expansion program costing AED 25 billion (US$ 7 billion). Further developments include a new air traffic control tower (ATC tower) and a Midfield Terminal Complex. Terminal T3 was announced as fully operational on 07 April 2009 and increased passenger capacity to 12 million per year (ADAC press release 07 April 2009). Passenger throughput in 2008 was 9 million (for comparison, Dubai airport was over 37 million).
- Second Abu Dhabi airport runway opened early 2008, is 2km away from the main runway so can operate simultaneously.
- Midfield Terminal Complex scheduled to open in 2015 (unconfirmed) (was 2011, then 2012), will increase capacity to 20 million pasengers per year or will add capacity of 20 million passengers per year (both figures indicated in ADAC press release 07 April 2009: "the Midfield Terminal Complex ... will provide long term capacity for over 20 million passengers per year" says the Chairman of ADAC, Khalifa Mohamed Al Mazrouei, and "... expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport designed to increase the overall capacity of the airport to more than 20 million passengers per year." says the press release notes).
- Update 10 November 2009: Sulaiman Al Siksek, Head of Aviation Projects for the Supervision Committee for the expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport (SCADIA), reportedly said (according to Maktoob Business) "We believe the Midfield Terminal will be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2015"
- Expansion plans might allow for up 50 million passengers per year if fully implemented.
Abu Dhabi Airport lounges
There are of course lounges for first and business class passengers. Additionally there is a lounge for economy class passengers with stopovers of more than 6 hours - the Yas Lounge at Terminal 1 which opened at the beginning of 2008 (January or February?).
Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal 3 (T3)
- Announced as fully operational on 07 April 2009 (ADAC press release), but Etihad Airways started flights out of T3 on 02 February 2009.
- T3 area 88,000 sq meters (950,000 sq feet)
- 10 departure gates including A380 compatible gates (2?)
- Passenger capacity up to 5 million per year.
- For Etihad Airways (and some foreign carriers?)
- Abu Dhabi Duty Free shops in T3 include Cartier, Chloe, Fendi, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Loewe, Rolex, Salvatore Ferragamo.
- Development cost AED 1 billion (US$272 million)
Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal 2 (T2)
Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal 1 & 1A (T1, T1A)
- AUH first opened in 1982, constructed by Aéroports de Paris, which probably explains the wacky 1970s design (if you've been to Charles de Gaulle Airport you'll understand).
Abu Dhabi Airport growth
| Year | Passengers | Change | Flights | Change | Cargo | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 9.672 million | +7.3% | 102,118 | +9.6% | 378,746 | +7.0% |
| 2008 | 9.017 million | 93,163 | 353,820 | |||
| 2007 | 6.926 million | +31% | 86,767 | +15% | 315,317 | 22% |
| 2006 | 4.8 million | 75,437 | 257,622 |
Information from press releases 09 February 2008 and 31 January 2010.
Airlines with flights to and from Abu Dhabi International Airport
More airlines still to be added (43 use AUH as of April 2009).
- AirAsia X / Air Asia X (budget) - planning to use Abu Dhabi as a hub from 2010 for flights to Europe and Africa - Czech Republic, Morocco, Spain, Turkey (according to media reports end July 2009). First flight from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur start date 23 November 2009 (announced in press release 19 August 209). AirAsiaX flights stopped from 21 February 2010, with a restart with a smaller plane under consideration - an A330 instead of the A340 that was being used (press reports 01 February 2010).
- Air France - Paris (May 2010)
- Air India Express IX (budget) - Chennai MAA (30 Apr 2009), Kochi / Cochin COK, Kozhikode / Calicut CCJ, Mangalore / Bajpe IXE, Tiruchirapalli / Tiruchirapally TRZ (30 Apr 2009), Thiruvananthapuram TRV. GSA is Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau tel +971-2-6322747, +971-2-6322300 (Abu Dhabi), +971-3-7557696 (Al Ain).
- Bahrain Air - Bahrain BAH (29 Mar 2009)
- Elite Aviation - flights operated by Blue Wings to Dusseldorf (Duesseldorf) 3x weekly (Mon, Wed, Sat), Berlin 2x weekly (Tue, Fri) from June 2009.
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
- GMG Airlines - Dhaka (unconfirmed, start date unknown)
- Jat Airways (Serbia) - Belgrade (06 May 2009)
- Jazeera Airways (Kuwait) - Kuwait (25 Oct 2009)
- Jet Airways (India) - Delhi DEL (23 April 2008), Mumbai BOM (23 April 2008)
- Lufthansa - Frankfurt
- Nasair - Saudi Arabia budget carrier
- Oman Air (Muscat, Oman) - Muscat
- Safi Airways (Afghanistan) - Kabul (14 May 2009, T2 AUH)
- SAMA (Saudi Arabia)
- Sun Air (Sudan) - Khartoum (16 April 2009)
- Thai Airways - Bangkok (BKK) suspended flights in 2003, restart flights 26 October 2009
- Turkish Airlines - Istanbul
- Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) (Ukraine) - Kiev (AUH-KBP 25 Sep 2009 28 Sep 2009)
- Yeti Airlines - Kathmandu (06 Feb 2008)
Cargo flights and airlines
- Cargoitalia (freight airline) - twice weekly to Milan Malpensa Airport from May 2008
- Etihad Crystal Cargo - cargo division of Etihad Airways, operates 3 freighter aircraft: 2x Airbus A300-600 and 1x MD 11 (April 2009)
New flights to Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Jat Airways AUH-Belgrade from 06 May 2009, 2x per week, Boeing 737 aircraft with 126 seats, from Terminal 1. Arrival AUH 0655, depart AUH 0745 on Wednesday and Friday.
- Safi Airways AUH-Kabul starts 14 May 2009, 2x per week, Boeing 737-300, from Terminal 2, links to Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-E-Sharif in Afghanistan.
Abu Dhabi Airport facts and figures
- IATA airport code AUH, ICAO airport code OMAA
- Operating Times: 24 hours per day
- GPS co-ordinates: Latitude: 24° 25' 59" (N), Longitude: 54° 39' 04" (E)
- Magnetic Variation: 10 E (1990 no significant change)
- Elevation: +26.8 meters (88 feet)
- Location relative to Abu Dhabi City: 30km (18 miles) east of the city centre
- Runways (length and width):
- 13 (4,100m x 45m)
- 31 (4,100m x 45m)
- Taxiways:
- Main: 4,100m x 22.5m
- Others all 22.5m width except F,C & G at 10m, 10m and 15m respectively.
- Radar: 4 systems: 2 x 200 NM range; 1 x approach radar 80 NM range, 1x surface movement radar.
- ILS Category: Cat ll
- Navigation Aids: VOR, DME, NDB, ILS Cat lll & ILS CAT l
Abu Dhabi Duty Free
Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) first opened in 1984 with a handful of shops and has expanded substantially since then (as you'd expect). Today, ADDF operates 24 hours and has shops in all three (or four) airport terminals (T1, T1A, T2, and T3 from April 2009).
- ADDF sells the usual selection of plonk, smokes and smelly stuff divided into several sections: Beauty & Fragrance, Books Magazines & Newspapers, Electronics, Fashion, Food & Chocolate, Gold & Jewellery, Liquor & Tobacco, Photography, Souvenirs, Toys, World of Luxury.
- Fashion, luxury and other brands include Boss, Bulgari/Bvlgari, Burberry, Cartier, Chanel, Christian Dior, Clarins, Clinque, D&G, Davidoff, Emporio Armani, Escada, Estée Lauder, Givenchy, Gucci, Lancôme, Nina Ricci, Oakley, Omega, Police, Rayban, Salvatore Ferragamo, Vespucci, Yves St Laurent (YSL).
- Vision 2000 is the electronics, computers, and mobile telephones section. Also sells CDs, DVDs, stationery, men's accessories (belts, wallets, etc).
- World of Cigars - no ban on Cuban cigars here
- Bin Sina Pharmacy - over-the-counter prescription drugs, toothbrushes, vitamin tablets, and all the other things you forgot in your last minute packing
- Swarovski - crystal glasses and ornaments
- Hour Choice - watches
- Like its Dubai counterpart, ADDF enjoys holding extravagent raffles, for example a monthly AED 1 million prize draw with tickets costing AED 500 (available at ADDF, Al Ain Duty Free, Abu Dhabi City Terminal, Ghweifat Duty Free, and online at the ADDF website).
Each terminal also has a small duty free in the arrivals section where you can top up your Abu Dhabi duty free allowance.
Ghweifat Duty Free
Ghweifat Duty Free is a duty free shop at the land border between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, operated by Abu Dhabi Duty Free. Don't expect quite the same extensive selection of caviar or Cuban cigars but it does have a range of perfume, electronics, toys etc. You can also buy ADDF raffle tickets and/or a cuppa tea and a sandwich.
Contact details
Abu Dhabi International Airport
- Postal Address: Department of Civil Aviation, Abu Dhabi International Airport: PO Box 20, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Telephone: +971-2-5757500, fax: +971-2-5757285
- Lost property tel: +971-2-5052771
- Flight enquiry: +971-2-5757500
- Telegraph: CIVILAIR ABU DHABI
- Telex: 24406 ABUDCA EM
Abu Dhabi Airports Company
- Telephone: +971-2-5055000, fax: +971-2-5758300, email: info@adac.ae
- Postal address: Abu Dhabi Airports Company, PO Box 94449, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Abu Dhabi Duty Free
- Abu Dhabi Duty Free Customer Service: T1 tel +971-2-5757818, T2 tel: +971-2-5053907 or +971-2-5758362
Last update Saturday 06-Feb-2010
Related pages
- Abu Dhabi customs limits - information for Dubai but should apply to Abu Dhabi and the UAE
- Etihad flights - list of destinations and other informatino for the Abu Dhabi airline based at ADIA
| UAE Airlines: | Air Arabia | Air Arabia Egypt | Emirates | Etihad | FlyDubai | Kang Pacific | RAK Airways | UAE airline list | |
|---|---|
| UAE Airports: | AUH (Abu Dhabi) | AAN (Al Ain) | Ajman airport (planned) | DXB (Dubai) | DXB flights | FJR (Fujairah) | JXB (Jebel Ali) | RKT (Ras Al Khaimah) | SHJ (Sharjah) |
| UAE travel information: | budget flights Abu Dhabi | flight deals to Abu Dhabi | budget hotels Dubai | car rental Abu Dhabi | hotels in Abu Dhabi | budget holidays Abu Dhabi | egate Abu Dhabi | tourist guide Dubai | visit visa Abu Dhabi |
Related websites (open in new window)
- www.abudhabiairport.ae - Abu Dhabi International Airport website (nothing at www.abudhabiairport.com)
- www.addf.ae and www.abudhabidutyfree.co.ae - Abu Dhabi Duty Free websites showing the same content (nothing at www.abudhabidutyfree.ae or www.abudhabidutyfree.com)
- www.adac.ae - Abu Dhabi Airports Company website
- Dubai directory - add your link free