Etihad Airways flies almost all of the long-haul out of Abu Dhabi, more than 100 destinations across over 40 countries, with A380s working London Heathrow, Toronto and Tokyo Narita and A350-1000s on Sydney, Atlanta and New York. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi runs the low-cost base. The remaining carriers lean heavily towards India, Pakistan, Egypt and the rest of the Gulf.

Terminal A is one of the largest terminal buildings anywhere, around 742,000 square metres under 50-metre atriums, built for 11,000 passengers an hour and 45 million a year, with gate piers A to D. Etihad's business and first lounges sit together on departures level 3 between piers C and D, both open around the clock, with day beds, showers, a games room and a rooftop bar.

The single-terminal layout is the point. Every connection happens inside one building, so Europe, Africa and South Asia feed into Southeast Asia and Australia with no terminal change and no shuttle bus. Etihad's United States services clear immigration and customs inside Terminal A before boarding, so those departures close earlier than the rest and land as domestic flights.

Abu Dhabi is the capital and it spends like one. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre out on Saadiyat with Zayed National Museum alongside it since 3 December 2025, the open state rooms at Qasr Al Watan, the Corniche beaches, and Ferrari World and SeaWorld on Yas Island. The Liwa dunes are about two hours inland. It works as a two-day stop or a full week.

Best time to visit

November to March, when daytime highs sit around 24 to 30°C and the Corniche and desert are comfortable. May to September is extremely hot and humid on the coast, with August averaging highs above 43°C. What rain there is falls between November and March.