UAE. Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has issued the first images of its spectacular new Terminal 3 at Abu Dhabi International Airport since the facility became fully operational.
As reported yesterday, ADAC has now completed the full transfer of flights from Terminal 1 to the new Etihad Airways-dedicated T3 after a smooth soft phased opening.
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Note the way the retail offer is integrated into the whole terminal design |
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This spectacular panorama shows how the cosmetics offer, from DFS Group, reaches out into the main departures zone |
The new facility has expanded airport capacity to over 12 million passengers a year, an increase of more than 5 million passengers.
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The terminal has ten departure gates and covers a built-up area of 88,000sq m. Besides its generic offer for traditional categories, the new duty free zone hosts a glittering line-up of retail boutiques run by DFS Group, including Bally, Bvlgari, Cartier, Chloé, Coach, Dunhill, Fendi, Ferragamo, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Loewe, Montblanc, Polo Ralph Lauren, Rolex, Swarovski, TAG Heuer and Tumi.
The Moodie Report was the first international media to view the new terminal, visiting T3 in early February, immediately after its soft opening (click on The Moodie Report PLUS on this page to read our impressions).
Even at that early stage, with a lot of finishing off still being completed and the food & beverage area (run by SSP) largely unopened, it was clear that T3 represented something special.
The quality of the retail execution – led by DFS but also supported by other specialist retailers such as Boots, Sharaf, Relay and Pure Gold – is exceptional. But what arguably stands out most is the understated finery of the terminal building itself.
There is a tremendous feeling of cohesion between the terminal’s operational, architectural and design components and its commercial elements. Impressively, the latter do not crowd or taint the ambience of the whole terminal building. In fact they are very much at one with it, helped by an Arabic fascia that runs through much of the departures zone.
ADAC will soon celebrate the Grand Opening of T3. The Moodie Report will bring you images of those celebrations and interviews with ADAC Chairman H.E. Khalifa Al Mazrouei and members of his senior management team in a special Terminal 3 supplement, published both in hard copy and in digital format online in coming weeks.
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Throughout the terminal there is a constant emphasis on consumer comfort and on natural lighting |
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This external view captures the gleaming modernity of the new Etihad Airways terminal |
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Abu Dhabi International Airport bucks global trend with +6% passenger growth – 23/03/09
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