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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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