Abu Dhabi Intl. Airport [AUH/OMAA]

The airport was first opened in 1968 under the name Al Bateen Airport (AZI/OMAD) and was located in Abu Dhabi island/city. Due to the development of the city, the airport was moved and re-opened in 1982 under its current name, the Abu Dhabi International Airport (ADIA). The new airport is located 32km (20 miles) south-east of the city, positioned at latitude 24º 41 (N), longitude 54º 67 (E).

Airport Facilities
The modern airport has one passenger terminal which is satellite (donut) shaped with telescopic boarding walkways, which eliminates the need to walk through long airport corridors. The inside of the passenger terminal is covered with blue-tiled atrium and contains the Abu Dhabi Duty Free, which has twice won the best travel retailer in the Middle East twice. The airport also contains 1 runway that is 4.1km (2.55 miles) long, 2 cargo terminals, 12 gates, 5 baggage claim belts, and 24 aircraft stands. The airport currently accommodates 40 passenger airlines, which serve a total of 90 destinations. The airport also contains 36 check-in counters and an 18-hole sand golf course. The meet and assist services provided by the airport are handled by Golden Class .

Transportation from the Airport
The three means of paid transportation from the airport to Abu Dhabi city are taxi, bus, or car rental. Traveling by taxi is made possible by Al Ghazal Transport taxi service, which costs Dhs. 65 ($ 18) and takes around 35 minutes. Transportation by bus is serviced by the Abu Dhabi Municipality bus service running on bus Route 901. The air-conditioned green and white buses cost Dhs. 3 ($ 1) to ride and depart from outside the arrivals every 30 or 45 minutes. The major rent a car companies have offices at the airport and a complete list of car rental/hire companies is included here .

Hotels and Accommodations
The Abu Dhabi Airport Hotel [(2) 575 7377] is a five star hotel with 40 rooms. Its facilities include a VIP lounge, a restaurant, bar, children's playroom, massage chairs, health club with jacuzzi, business centre, sauna and gym. Other hotels are located in Abu Dhabi city, which require travelers to either request the hotel to pick them up or else travel by a rented car, airport bus, or taxi.

Future Plans
The airport is currently under construction to make a new runway and the enlargement of the main terminal. The airport also plans to build a new satellite shaped terminal with 11 aircraft stands by the year 2006. This terminal will contain a 200-bedroom transit hotel, a golf course, swimming pool, restaurant, cinema, health club, beauty saloon, and other facilities. More information about the development can be found here and here .

Other Information
The Abu Dhabi Intl. Airport is managed by Abu Dhabi Civil Aviation Department and maintained by Abu Dhabi Airport Services . The airport opened a check-in facility in the Abu Dhabi city known as the City Terminal on June 21st 1999. The City Terminal allows passengers to check-in their luggage and obtain a boarding pass, which reduces the time an individual would wait at the airport. This service is free for first and business classes.

Notes: The information included on this page is as accurate as possible at the time of its writing. The variants of the word Abu Dhabi are Abu Zaby, Abu Zabi, and Abu Daby.

Al Ain Intl. Airport [AAN/OMAL]

The Al Ain International Airport was opened in March 31st 1994, as Abu Dhabi's second international airport. The airport is located 13km (8 miles) north-west of the city centre and is positioned at latitude 24° 16 N, 55° 36 E.

Airport Facilities
The Al Ain Int. Airport has one runway 4km (2.5 miles) long, five passenger aircrafts parking areas and two parking areas for cargo planes. The airport's terminal contains duty free shops, money exchanges, restaurants, public telephones, postal services, and a medical center. The airport is used by a total of eight airlines (Gulf Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Alia Royal Jordanian, Egypt Air, MTE Donavia, Qatar Airways, Krasnoyarsk Fras Air and Uralinteravia) and the airport does not contain any business or conference facilities.

Transportation from the Airport
Though rent a car companies aren't present at the airport, a few car rental companies in the center of the city will drop-off a rented car at the airport for you to collect. Alternatively, individuals can choice to ride the Al Ain Municipality airport bus for around Dhs. 5 ($ 1.25) or either to hire a fixed-rate Al Ghazal Transport taxi for Dhs. 40 ($ 11).

Hotels and Accommodations
The Al Ain International Airport does not contain a hotel. The nearest hotels to the Airport are Al Ain Rotana, Hilton Al Ain and InterContinental Hotel Al Ain .

Future Plans
An expansion plan is currently under way, including the extension of the terminal building, cargo, catering facilities, and duty free areas.

Dubai Intl. Airport [DXB/OMDB]

The Dubai International Airport was built in 1959 by order of the late ruler, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, and was the first airport to be built in the UAE. At that time, the airport only contained one runway, which length was 1.8 km (1.12 miles). The airport is 4 km (2.5 miles) south-east of the city center and is positioned at latitude 25° 25 N, longitude 55° 36 E. The Dubai Airport is the fastest growing airport in the Middle East and has been nominated the best airport in 2002 and 2003 by a survey carried out by IATA (International Air Transport Association).

Airport Facilities
The Dubai Intl. Airport is continuously developing and currently has 2 terminals and accommodates 100 airlines, which connect to over 140 destinations. The airport has a meet-and-greet assistance service known as Marhaba Services.

Terminal 1 (Sheikh Rashid Terminal or Concourse 1)
This terminal is the main heart of the Dubai Airport and was reopened in April 2000 as the second stage of the airport expansion program, which began in 1997. The terminal is 0.8 km (0.5 miles) in length and connects to the check-in area by a 0.3 km (0.19 miles) underground tunnel containing moving walkway (conveyer belt / travelators). The terminal has also installed an advanced passenger clearance system, known as e-gate, which uses a smart card to electronically screen a passenger's data. Terminal 1 comprises of five levels; the first contains the Dubai Duty Free, the second for departure, the third for arrival, and the last two levels are for the airport hotel. The terminal contains 27 boarding gates, 47 aerobridges, and a total of 36 lounges, which consist of first class, business class, airline, quiet, and regular/economy class lounges accommodate Terminal 1 travellers. It also contains a hotel, business centre, health club, exchanges, dining and entertainment facilities, internet services, medical center, post office, prayer room, and shopping at the Dubai Duty Free (more information about these facilities can be found here ).

Terminal 2
The terminal was built to reduce the congestion of Terminal 1 and was opened in May 1998, as the first stage of expansion of the Dubai airport. Terminal 2 caters to regional, point-to-point, scheduled, chartered, and executive flights (more information about the terminal can be found here ).

Transportation from the Airport
Transportation from the airport is possible by taxi, bus, car rental, and limousine. The taxi service is provided by the government-run Dubai Transport airport taxi service, where each cab is meter-run. Airport taxis are meter cabs with a pick-up charge of Dhs. 20 ($ 5.50) and the final fare will be calculated according to the recorded distance travelled. The Dubai Municipality public bus system costs Dhs. 3 per person and travels on bus routes 401 and 402 to either the Al Sabkha or Al Ghubaiba bus stations, passing by, or near, many of the hotels and apartments found in Dubai. There are 15 car rental companies with offices at the airport, and the majority of them provide chauffeur services. Limousine services are present at the Dubai airport through Siji Limousines and Dubai VIP Limousine Service.

Hotels and Accommodations
Terminal 1 houses the Dubai International Hotel, which is a five star hotel with 88 rooms, restaurants, G-Force health club, swimming pool, and a business and conference facilities. The hotel occupies the last 2 levels of the Shaikh Rashid Terminal and the hotel prices are per hour starting from around Dhs. 100 ($ 27). There are three hotels within 1 km (0.62 miles) of the airport, which are the Millennium Airport Hotel, Al Bustan Rotana Hotel and Le Meridien Hotel. Other hotels can be reached by bus or car and take between 5 to 15 minutes to reach.

Future Plans
The second stage of the airport expansion program began at the beginning of 2002, and is expected to be completely finished by 2006. This program includes the development of terminal 3, concourse 2, concourse 3, a mega cargo terminal, flower center, and an apron area. The new terminal and concourses will be dedicated to Emirates Airlines flights. Additional information on the airport's development can be found here .

Other Info
The Department of Civil Aviation, whose president is Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoom, controls the Dubai International Airport. The Dubai International Airport vicinity also contains the Dubai Airport Free Zone , the Airport Expo Dubai , and the Dubai Cargo Village . The Dubai government also owns its own airlines, Emirates Airlines

Sharjah Intl. Airport [SHJ/OMSJ]

Sharjah International Airport was opened on January 1st 1977 and is located 10 km (6.21 miles) south-east of the center of the city and about 15 km (9.31 miles) from Dubai. The airport is located opposite to the Sharjah University and is positioned at latitude 25º 19 N, longitude 55º 30 E. Sharjah was the first emirate to contain an airfield, which was build in 1932 by Imperial Airways (British Airways) as a stopover for flights to India and Australia. The airfield was handed over to the Sharjah government when the British influence left the area in 1968.

Airport Facilities
Sharjah Intl. Airport has only one runway which extends 4km (2.5 miles), 1 passenger terminal, 4 cargo terminals, 25 aircraft stands, and 8 departure gates. The passenger terminal contains prayer areas, a travel agency, internet facilities, restaurants, postal services, money exchanges, a medical clinic, and duty free shopping. The airport also started providing a special attention service from 2001 called Hala Services . Though the airport handles passenger aircrafts, the airport is known more for its air cargo facilities.

Transportation from the Airport
For easy mobility to town after arriving at the airport, there are three paid means of transportation. The Sharjah Airport City-Link bus service runs 6 to 12 times a day, transporting passengers from the arrivals exit to the center of the city for a fee of Dhs. 3 ($ 1) (you can find the bus departure schedule here ). It is also possible to take an airport taxi, which normally costs around Dhs. 20 ($ 6), and be driven to your desired destination, or you can rent a car from any of the car rental/hire companies that have offices at that airport.

Hotels and Accommodations
The Sharjah Airport Hotel [(6) 558 1110] is located within the airport premises. It is a 3 star hotel with 100 rooms and an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel provides a free pickup and drop-off service from the airport. All other hotels are found in the main city area, which can be reached by any of the transportation means mentioned above.

Other Information
The Sharjah International Airport has a travel agency division known as Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA), which has offices in the airport [(6) 508 4080] and the city center [(6) 561 8888]. The airport also contains a freezone on its premises, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone).

Ras Al Khaimah Intl. Airport [RKT/OMRK]

The Ras Al Khaimah International Airport was opened in 1976 and is 18km (11 miles) south of the city center. Its position is at latitude 25° 36N and longitude 55° 56E, near the village of Digdaga.

Airport Facilities
The Ras Al Khaimah Intl. Airport has one runway 3.8km (2.35 miles) in length, two passenger terminals, one cargo terminal, 6 check-in desks, 2 gates, postal services, bureau de change, restaurants, duty free shops, travel agents, 2 airport hotels, and medical facilities.

Transportation from the Airport
Getting from the airport to the center of the city is only possible by taxi, which costs Dhs. 5 for the 15 minute drive. For those have booked a hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, most of the hotels provide transportation from the airport, so do inform them before your arrival.

Hotels and Accommodations
The airport does not contain an hotel and the closest hotels are all present in the city center, reachable in approximately 15 minutes by car.

Future Plans
The RAK International Airport is continuously in development and they have setup a four year plan to construct new arrival and departure lounges, free trade zone, automated cargo warehouses, parking lots, offices, and restaurants. They also plan to construct a new five star airport hotel, build a new runway, be permitted to issue Iranian visas, and publish an annual airport book.

Fujairah Intl. Airport [FJR/OMFJ]

The Fujairah International Airport started operations in October 1987 and is located in the city's south area, at latitude 25º 07 N, longitude 56º 20 E.

Airport Facilities
Fujairah Intl. Airport contains one 3.75 km (2.33 miles) long runway. The terminal has 15 aircraft stands, duty free shops, restaurants, VIP and First Class lounges, and a mosque. The airport is mainly used for cargo flights and military stop-offs, and has very view passenger flights throughout the year.

Transportation from Airport
Getting around Fujairah from the airport is possible by hiring a taxi, which should cost Dhs. 3 ($ 1) to get to any point within Fujairah. For those wishing to rent a car, though there are no car rental offices at the airport, their offices are a short distance from the airport and can be requested to deliver booked vehicles to the airport.

Hotels and Accommodations
The Fujairah International Airport does not contain a hotel, but there are five and four star hotels in Fujairah .

Other Info
During the 1990 Gulf War, Fujairah Intl. Airport became a major cargo point for the whole region, as the seaport is also at close proximity, insuring fast sea-air and re-export business between Europe and East Asia.

Emirates Airlines EK]

Air France [AF]

Gulf Air [GF]

Air Arabia [G9]

Etihad Airways [EY]

Gulf Air [GF]

KLM [KL]

PIA [PK]

Saudi Airlines [SV]

Air India [IA]

Alitalia [AZ]

British Airways [BA]

Cathay Pacific [CX]

Lufthansa [LH]

Qatar Airlines [QR]

Malaysia Airlines [MH]

Oman Air [WY]