Abu Dhabi Airport

One of the worst airport I have ever crossed so far. We landed at Gate 34 to catch a connecting flight at Gate 17. After walking 20 minutes I came across a big banner "Gate 17" and there is no gate underneath! After catching somebody with airport badge came to know that its closed and have to go through Gate 1415 and 16 to go to Gate 17! Once inside there is no water no toilets and highly inadequate seats for 5 gates in that area! No electronic board showing which flight on which gate anything. If you need water go back to the main mall area and then again come back via security checks! Even worse for the families. First time I came across a situation where families are told to seat while they send across single and passengers without kids to the aircraft and 5 minutes into the bus boarding activity airport officials realized there are no additional bus and they sent the families in the same congested bus!! As far as possible I will not travel again via Abu Dhabi. One mistake is enough.

The airport has come a long way but travel through AUH is still a rude awakening for many people. There needs to be better management and more thought put into the finer details. My biggest complaint is about the process (time delays) for eye scanning that passengers are put through. Management needs to realize that when there is a line with 100 arrival passengers but only one employee working this is extremely inefficient and irresponsible. There is no one monitoring this section of the airport so you'll have people who are impatient pushing and going through to the front of the line. In this section of the airport there is no seating for passengers after a long flight. People are left waiting for hours just waiting with no fans or air conditioning! After speaking to many people who have also flown through AUH and DXB they have said the experience left a negative outlook regarding travel to UAE.

Very unimpressed! My husband and I arrived in Abu Dhabi after a 14 hr flight from Australia. The airport is chaotic staff are fairly brusque and not helpful and there is nowhere to get a shower. In addition the Al Reem lounge was advertised as being accessible to certain MasterCard holders. The fine print as we were told at said lounge's check-in counter is that this is only for cards issued from Africa and the Middle East. Alternative option is the airport hotel which only rents rooms for the day. The place gives the impression of giving the ups to ordinary mortals like myself who travel economy. When compared to other airports like Singapore Seoul Hong Kong Tokyo Osaka Bangkok this place leaves a huge amount to be desired. Won't be flying Etihad again if I can avoid it.

MAN-AUH-DAC. Arrived at T1 Gate 7 and my onward flight was on the same aircraft at the same gate some 90 minutes later. You can't beat that for convenience. T1 is clearly more cramped than T3 which I have used before and I found the ATMs hard to locate without directions from staff. Ironically before opening up the scanners at Gate 7 the security team there used the passenger waiting area as location for their smoking break - in direct view of the no-smoking notices. Makes you wonder about their professionalism.

Terminal 1 has now been refurbished and has a fresh and spacious feel to it. The new First/Business Class lounge is excellent for food quality beverages cleanliness showers etc. For a long stop over pay the lounge price for a good meal and relaxing time. Immigration takes no more than 5 minutes. Taxi's plentiful outside.

My first transit at AUH from DAC to MAN. Arrived at T3 with about 70 minutes between flights. As my departing flight also left from T3 the walking distance involved was refreshingly short. No queues at security. Only back-up was at document checkpoint at the gate. If you don't want to be forced to go through the duty free shop simply use the toilets after security as they have a second exit that leads to the gate concourse. My connecting flight left from a remote stand necessitating a relatively short bus transfer. All together a smooth and comfortable transit experience.

Through AUH to BAH. Arrived at a remote stand and bussed to Terminal. Clear signage made it easy to navigate along with plenty of Departure screens. As previously stated quite busy so seating can be a bit hit and miss but they can be found. However after 7 hours in the air a walk about was most welcome. Boarding through Gate 18 was bizarre a doorway that actually led to Gate 17 and 18. Even weirder was that two flights were through this door at the same time which led to confusion for passengers. Security was a drag with two flights passing through one metal detector and two x-ray machines. They got it sorted and we were bussed to another remote stand. Return was at night. Arrived at another remote stand and again a bus to the Terminal. I was travelling with an infant access to a stroller would have been advantageous at the gate. Upon arriving at Flight Transfer we found a fleet of strollers. Why position them here? A reasonably long walk down to Gate 34 (10 mins) with plenty of seating at the Gate in a clean and airy environment. Overall not a bad experience. Terminal 1 is rather dated but great for people watching and shopping. Terminal 3 is modern and bright but can involve a fair trek down to the Gates in the 30's. Be prepared is my advice. Roll with it as it can be busy and perhaps not follow the norm expected of some western airports.

Very bad experience with this airport definitely will never travel again through it. Very bad attitude from immigration staff. E-gates rarely working and no one there to help.

AUH even though it has a 'new terminal' is seriously deficient in the security area where queues can stretch back along the moving walkways/escalators. Their Etihad airport lounge is cramped and uncomfortable and the free internet stations in the terminal usually on 60% operational.

A bit unsure given the previous views here. But very pleased. Excellent signage super staff easy transfer good food and duty free. Seating is limited but sufficient. Announcements clear and sufficient. Boarding easy and painless. Much better than I had expected and would be happy to recommend the airport for anyone transferring. I used terminal 3 only - I cannot review terminal 1.