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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, Ra’s 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 UAE’s
airports.
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