Etihad Airways is putting the finishing touches on an all-new flagship lounge at Abu Dhabi, which is expected to open mid-November in the airport’s equally-impressive Midfield Terminal.
Yes, that’s the same terminal which was due to open in 2017, and then the enbd of 2019 – at which point, when the terminal was 98% completed, the pandemic struck.
But Etihad’s new home and Abu Dhabi’s new gateway to the world is finally ready and expected to host its first flights by November 14 (although there may be additional festivities on December 2, to coincide with UAE National Day).
Etihad arrivals and departures will be swung over from Terminal 3 to the Midfield Terminal – which passengers will come to know as Terminal A – along with the Abu Dhabi Airport Hotel at T1, which has advised guests it will “cease operation from 14th November 2023” with plans to reopen in Terminal A.
Executive Traveller understands Etihad’s all-new premium lounge at Terminal A will accommodate well over 1,000 travellers, and incorporates a ’first class’ wing with VIP rooms which will accomodate high flyers in the returned Etihad A380s, which by early November will be darting three times a day between Abu Dhabi and London.
Beginning construction in 2012, the US$3bn Midfield Terminal project was conceived a time when the government-owned airline, under CEO James Hogan, entertained visions of Etihad Airways becoming a globe-spanning colossus to rival the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways.
That ambition – which was spearheaded by the Airbus A380 with its three-room Residence and spacious first class Apartments – eventually saw the airline lose some US$5b in three years, although this was also fulled by ill-fated investments in the likes of Airberlin and Alitalia.
Years later, Abu Dhabi government and Hogan’s successor Tony Douglas – now CEO of ambitious startup Riyadh Air – changed tack and embarked on a plan to ‘right-size’ the carrier, effectively shrinking itself to profitability.
Now Etihad’s back on a growth trajectory, and the Midfield Terminal will prove ample room to spread its wings.
The Gulf airline has added 11 new destinations this year alone, with a growing fleet of Airbus A350s and a fresh batch of Boeing 787s with upgraded private business class suites, while its A380 superjumbos are also back in the skies.
Located between Abu Dhabi’s two runways, the Midfield Terminal has already guest-starred in the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, including not just the interior of the cavernous X-shaped megastructure but as the centrepiece of an action scheme with Tom Cruise atop the wave-like roof designed to mimic rolling desert dunes.
The central 740,000m2 terminal will house a dizzying array of shops, restaurants and cafes, with a transit hotel and space earmarked for up to eight airline lounges.
An estimated 30 million passengers will pass through the terminal each year – as many as 11,000 per hour – making their way and from 65 gates spread across the two massive piers.
Each wing of the twin piers is ‘themed’ in accordance with the direction it faces – towards the city, ocean, desert and oasis – while the 50-metre high departure hall is largely column free, giving a perception of an outdoor space enhanced by the soaring glazed windows.
Perched like a glittering jewel in the desert, the terminal’s illuminated interior will be visible from 16km away.
“Terminal A underscores our dedication to providing our international passengers and partners with a premium airport experience,” promises Elena Sorlini, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Airports – and that experience should be a speedily efficient one, given the promise of a minimum connect time of 45 minutes for passengers transferring between flights.
Source: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/new-etihad-lounge-abu-dhabi-midfield-terminal-a
