5/5 Rohit S. 7 months ago on Google
Abu
Dhabi's
first
international
airport
and
the
first
main
airport
in
the
UAE
capital.
In
1982,
the
current
Abu
Dhabi
International
Airport
was
opened
32km
outside
the
city.The
airport,
located
16.5
nautical
miles
(30.6
km;
19.0
mi)
east
of
Abu
Dhabi
city,
is
the
second
largest
in
the
UAE
after
Dubai
International
Airport,
serving
around
20
million
passengers
in
2014.
It
has
three
operational
passenger
terminals:
Terminal
1
(divided
into
Terminals
1A
and
1B),
Terminal
2,
and
Terminal
3,
served
exclusively
by
Etihad
Airways,
the
country's
second
flag
carrier
airline
and
the
second
largest
airline
in
the
UAE
after
Emirates.
Abu
Dhabi
International
Airport
is
spread
over
an
area
of
3,400
hectares
(8,500
acres).
More
than
30
airlines
offer
service
to
over
120
destinations
in
more
than
60
countries.
The
airport
was
first
conceived
in
1974,
in
response
to
the
government's
plans
to
modernize
the
then
brand
new
nation.
At
the
time,
Al
Bateen
Airport
(then
called
Abu
Dhabi
International
Airport)
was
the
main
international
airport
serving
the
city
(Abu
Dhabi
Airfield
was
the
other
old
airport).
Sheikh
Zayed
bin
Sultan
Al
Nahyan
had
realized
that
it
was
hard
to
access
the
airport,
as
it
was
located
on
Abu
Dhabi
Island
and
that
the
island
at
the
time
was
connected
to
the
mainland
by
only
one
bridge.
Also,
the
city
was
expanding
at
the
time,
making
it
harder
for
the
airport
to
expand
During
the
late
1970s,
a
location
for
the
building
site
was
strategically
located,
so
it
could
be
easily
accessible.
Construction
started
by
1979
and
the
airport
was
inaugurated
on
January
2,
1982.
The
old
airport's
name
was
changed
to
Al
Bateen
airport
and
the
new
airport
was
given
its
previous
name.
The
new
airport
included
a
circular
satellite
terminal
(with
aerobridges)
with
a
single
connection
to
a
semi-circular
terminal.This
design
allowed
more
aircraft
to
park
simultaneously.
During
the
late
1990s
and
early
2000s,
substantial
work
was
carried
out
on
the
satellite
terminal,
to
cater
for
the
increase
in
passenger
numbers,
including
widening
the
passenger
waiting
areas
and
creating
extra
parking
spots.
The
main
terminal
also
underwent
some
external
changes,
especially
on
the
outer
facad
6 people found this review helpful 👍