Wonder terminal opens in Abu Dhabi: how to go there from Italy with just 71 euros

It took 11 years, but the wait is over. On Nov. 1, Abu Dhabi Airport's Mid Field Terminal (since renamed Terminal A) will open its doors to the public. It was originally scheduled to open in 2017, five years after construction began in 2012.

But problems with the companies involved in the work and the 'mounting' costs (which were eventually estimated at about $3 billion) had caused a sequence of postponements, and when the Covid crippled air travel for months there was even speculation that Mid Field would never open: too large, and expensive to operate, to serve a company like Etihad Airways, which in the past 11 years has sharply scaled back its growth ambitions from an Emirates- or Turkish-style global carrier to a 'boutique airline,' albeit a sizable one.

Those who landed or departed Abu Dhabi saw from the window, year after year, the architectural marvel that is Terminal A, but his plane had just departed or docked then at one of the other two terminals at the Emirates airport.

Here are the details

In recent days, all speculation has been swept away by the official announcement by Abu Dhabi Airports Company of the start of operations from Terminal A on Nov. 1. The opening will be preceded, on October 31, by the arrival at the terminal of a celebratory flight by Etihad Airways, for which Terminal A will be its new home.

And what a home: the building covers an area of 742 thousand square meters (one of the largest airport terminals in the world by area). At full capacity, a few weeks after opening, it will be able to handle up to 45 million passengers a year, or three times the capacity of the two existing terminals combined. Up to 11 thousand passengers per hour will be able to be 'processed,' thanks in part to an innovative biometric system that will give access to almost all areas of the infrastructure.

As is already the case in Dubai, an important part of the floor area will be dedicated to retail and food & beverage: there will be 163 stores and restaurants, spread over a total area of 35 thousand square meters.

Airlines will move there in three stages during a two-week period: From November 1, it will be the turn of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and 15 other airlines. From November 9, Etihad Airways will move 16 of its daily flights there, before completing the 'move' by bringing all its operations to the new terminal on November 14, along with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and 15 other carriers.

Farewell Millemiglia, review Abu Dhabi - Milan flight in business class aboard Etihad's most modern and efficient Boeing 787

From Italy, Abu Dhabi can be reached by direct flights from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa. Low-cost Wizz Air and Etihad Airways operate from the Roman airport, while only Etihad operates from the Lombardy airport.

Flying to the Emirates for €75

During the month of November, the latter offers super-cheap Economy tickets from Rome Fiumicino: 75 euros one way (151 euros round trip) if you buy the 'Sale' fare, which includes, however, the possibility of taking a 7kg hand luggage on board.

The fare is offered on both the morning flight (which leaves Fiumicino at 9:20 a.m. and lands in Abu Dhabi at 6:55 p.m.) and the overnight flight (leaving Rome at 9:35 p.m. and arriving in the Emirate at 6:40 a.m.), while from Abu Dhabi it is offered on the connection that leaves the Gulf at 2:25 a.m. and lands in our capital at 5:45 a.m.

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