Travel to the UAE has never been easier since it is
now one of the most popular tourist destinations in
the world. Most of the leading airlines of the world
fly into the UAE, but you can also travel by road
or sea. The vast majority of visitors take advantage
of the excellent deals on offer through a number of
tour operators. The national airlines Gulf Air and
Emirates Airlines offer a comprehensive air service
to the UAE's six international airports at Abu Dhabi,
Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.
Over
40 passenger carriers operate scheduled flights to
Abu Dhabi from approximately 90 destinations world-wide.
Major international carriers include Air France, Air
India, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, PIA, Britannia,
and China Airlines.
Airport
facilities are superb and include an award-winning
3200-square-metre duty free shop, a 19-suite airport
hotel, a golf course 400 metres from the terminal,
a gym, VIP lounges, a tourist information centre,
car hire, travel agency, hotel reservation, bank,
bureau de change, internet access and a 24-hour business
centre. Raffles for Dh500,000 cash are commonplace
at the airport and there is alcohol for sale on arrival.
Abu
Dhabi airport is situated on the mainland, 35km (22
miles) east of the city. The journey to the city centre
should take about 45 minutes, depending on the traffic.
Limousines
and Al Ghazal taxis (purple and white luxury saloons)
can be pre-booked or picked-up at the airport. Fares
are approximately Dh70. Orange and white airport taxis
charge approximately Dh40 to the city centre. Many
hotels run an airport shuttle service.
For
the return journey, Gulf Air passengers can check
in at a city terminal opposite the Beach Rotana hotel,
up to 12 hours before their departure time. There
is a 24-hour courtesy shuttle service every half hour
from the city terminal to the airport.
Bus
services run from the airport to the bus station on
East Rd approximately every 20 minutes. The fare is
Dh3.Note
that there is no left luggage facility at Abu Dhabi
airport.
Approximate
Flight Times
From London to Abu Dhabi flight times are 6 hours
35 minutes, to Dubai 7 hours; from Frankfurt to Dubai
6 hours; from Hong King to Dubai 8 hours, from Los
Angeles 19 hours 55 minutes, from Toronto 14 hours
10 minutes, from Sydney 16 hours 15 minutes. It takes
4 hours to fly from Nairobi to Dubai.
Departure
Tax
You do not have to pay departure tax at any of the
UAEs airports.
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