Crossroads Of The World

- Akanksha Maker

I caught my connecting flight to New York JFK from Abu Dhabi International Airport a couple of months ago. It was the first time I was flying to the US through the emirate. And so it came as a pleasant surprise when I could complete all necessary immigration and customs inspections prior to departure at the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility at Terminal 3 of the Abu Dhabi airport. This means, upon landing in the US, I was treated as a domestic traveller.

There are many such facilities and services at Abu Dhabi International Airport that make it convenient to business travellers in transit or otherwise. For instance, on deboarding the aircraft, I could easily connect to the airport’s free wifi.

REMOTE CHECK-IN

The airport has designated four self check-in kiosks around the city. The first one — City Terminal — is located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s business district, close to top international hotels. It offers early check-in and bag drop to passengers. Airlines including Etihad Airways, Jet Airways, Qatar Airways and Air India offer this facility at City Terminal. This check-in service is unavailable for US-bound passengers, those with special medical needs, unaccompanied minors and passengers with a staff ticket.