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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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