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Abu Dhabi Airport Set to open new terminal in November 2023
Abu Dhabi Airports has announced the opening of its state-of-the-art new terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Known as Midfield Terminal Building during the construction phase, ‘Terminal A’ is scheduled to begin operations in early November 2023. The terminal was supposed to open in 2017 but has been delayed multiple times. The new terminal is desperately needed as the old one is too busy. Key parts of Tom Cruise’s Mission:Impossible film were filmed at the new terminal.
Equipped with the latest technologies, Terminal A will have a range of interconnected biometric systems that should give passengers a seamless, digitised journey from pre-travel to boarding gate, facilitated by self-service kiosks, streamlined security checkpoints and state-of-the-art baggage handling systems.
Terminal A is among the largest airport terminals in the world and will significantly increase Abu Dhabi International Airport’s capacity. Once operational, the new terminal will accommodate up to 45 million passengers per year, be able to process 11,000 travellers per hour and operate 79 aircraft at any given time.
The terminal will also feature luxurious lounges, relaxation zones, and spa facilities as well as 163 retail and food and beverage outlets. I’m looking forward to seeing what Etihad’s new lounges will be like.
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “As Abu Dhabi’s new gateway to the world, Terminal A is an embodiment of Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment to support the emirate’s sustainable economic development. The opening of the facility, which is on par with the largest and grandest on our planet, turns over a new page in Abu Dhabi’s 55-year aviation history. A beacon of modernity and sophistication, it be a will be a pivotal driver for our emirate’s growth by spurring tourism and trade.”
Virgin Voyages Confirms Portsmouth Return
Virgin Voyages has confirmed plans to return to Portsmouth with a range of short itineraries. I cruised from there with Virgin Voyages last year and loved it. You can read my review of the sailing here.
The new sailings out of Portsmouth will feature itineraries to Amsterdam, Bruges, Barcelona, Lisbon and Ibiza, will be available to book from 7 September. Virgin often also allow you to book cruises on Virgin Points, which can be amazing value. Hopefully, they may make some of the Portsmouth itineraries available on redemption.
Eurostar Snow service sales announced
If you fancy going by train to your next ski trip, Eurostar has announced the new Eurostar Snow service leaving from London to the Alps via Lille Europe. The only downside is that you do have to connect in Lille before continuing your journey on a Eurostar continental train. Tickets are now on sale from £99 one way.
Eurostar Snow will take travellers to top ski resorts, such as Chambéry, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime-La Plagne, before arriving in Bourg-Saint-Maurice as its final destination.
Departing from London on 16th December, Eurostar Snow will run for eight weekends throughout the ski season. Leaving on Saturday morning, the train will arrive at the slopes in time for après-ski. The journey back to London will depart Sunday morning, arriving at St Pancras International in the afternoon.
With fixed fares starting from £99 one-way in Standard and £149 in Standard Premier, another bonus is the generous luggage allowance offering each traveller two suitcases, one piece of hand luggage and skis or snowboard at no extra cost. This is definitely much better than most airlines.
Passengers travelling from France back to the UK will go through check-in, security, and immigration on arrival to Lille Europe, before continuing their journey to London.
Not sure what class to travel? Check out our comparison here.
2 comments
The Snow service sounds amazing and I hope it works well for Eurostar. A few years ago I met some friends in Brides-les-Bains to ski. Took the Eurostar to Paris and changed to a TGV to Moutiers – which required changing stations in Paris to make my connection. A simple change a Lille would be most welcome, and easier to do than doing the Metro/RER shuffle across Paris.
That’s good news about VV. I was on Valiant Lady on a trip out of Portsmouth down to Barcelona last year for its positioning to the Med for the summer season.
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