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Abu Dhabi Airport Midfield Terminal: Opening in 2023?

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While I’ll believe it when it does happen, will 2023 end up being the year Abu Dhabi’s highly anticipated new terminal opens?

Basics of the new terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport

As early as 2012, Abu Dhabi International Airport began construction of a new midfield terminal. The new terminal was supposed to increase the airport’s capacity by 45 million passengers a year, more than doubling its current capacity. The terminal has a total area of ​​742,000 square meters (approximately 8 million square feet).

Abu Dhabi’s new terminal was originally scheduled to open in 2017. To be clear, that timeline is not just a vision years in advance, but in early 2017, the terminal is still scheduled to open that same year. Shortly thereafter, however, it was announced that the terminal would be delayed by up to two years, with a new opening scheduled for 2019.

In 2019, it looked like the new terminal was actually going to open, and trials were even conducted with volunteers to ensure that the terminal was largely operating as planned from a passenger experience standpoint. At the time, the terminal was said to be 98 percent complete.

Unfortunately, even after that, not much happened. In 2021, we learn that airport operators have cancel the contract Working with a consortium that was supposed to build the nearly $3 billion terminal, even though the project is nearing completion.

For nearly six years, Abu Dhabi’s terminal was almost ready but remained closed.

Abu Dhabi Airport Midfield Terminal Construction

Why the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal is not yet open

Construction delays are common, especially at airports.For example, there are The Whole Disaster at Berlin Brandenburg Airport, possibly the most dysfunctional airport project we’ve ever seen. While Abu Dhabi’s new terminal did experience some hiccups, this does not appear to be the root cause of the delay in the opening of the terminal.

Instead, the delay appears to be mainly because the Abu Dhabi government has changed its aviation strategy in recent years. In terms of capacity, there is currently no real need for midfield terminals.

The idea for the new midfield terminal arose when Etihad Airways wanted to become a major global airline and compete with Emirates and Qatar. At the time, Etihad Airways had hundreds of planes on order, and the number of planes would increase every year, so a bigger airport was needed.

started about five years agoAfterwards, the Abu Dhabi government changed its mind and was unwilling to inject endless funds into airlines.Since then, Etihad has been more of a boutique airline, which basically shrink yourself to profit.

In terms of capacity, there is no need for a midfield terminal. However, in terms of passenger experience, Abu Dhabi could certainly use a new terminal. It seems to me that this can be achieved in one of several ways:

  • Will the old terminal be completely closed and all business will be transferred to the new terminal?
  • Will multiple terminals continue to operate, just be underutilized?
  • Will the opening of the new terminal be endlessly delayed as a cost-saving measure?
  • While probably unlikely, could the new terminal project be canceled entirely, even though it is nearly complete, because there is no real need for it?
Rendering of Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport

Could the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal open in 2023?

Momberger airport information is Report The new Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal will open in late 2023. Specifically, the opening date may be December 2, 2023, which is the national day of the UAE.

The plan is said to permanently close Terminals 1 and 2 and stop using Terminal 3. This means that all business will move to the Midfield terminal, although Terminal 3 may reopen in the future if demand grows sufficiently.

Whether things will play out this way is anyone’s guess. Even with the intention to open the new terminal later this year, a lot has changed between now and then.

Personally, I’m inclined to believe that the new terminal will actually open in the near future:

  • Abu Dhabi aviation sector stabilizes, Etihad well positioned to stop lighting multi-billion dollar fire
  • Surely everyone in Abu Dhabi wants a better airport experience, even if the extra capacity of the new terminal is not needed, and the new terminal will deliver
  • Since the new terminal is more or less complete, it no longer requires such a large investment to open the terminal
Rendering of Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport

the bottom line

Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new midfield terminal has yet to open six years after its original opening date. The delay is not due to some construction disaster, but because the terminal has not been needed for the past few years, as Etihad has been shrinking rather than growing.

There are now reports that the midfield terminal will open in late 2023, around the UAE National Day. Hopefully this timetable sticks, as it would certainly be nice for Etihad to have a more competitive ground experience, especially given the other hubs in the region.

What are your thoughts on when the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal will open?

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