While I’ll believe it when it actually happens, could 2023 finally be the year that Abu Dhabi’s much anticipated new terminal opens?
In this post:
The basics of Abu Dhabi Airport’s new terminal
Back in 2012, construction started on a new Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The new terminal was supposed to increase the airport’s capacity by up to 45 million passengers per year, more than doubling the existing capacity. The terminal is a total of 742,000 square meters (around eight millions square feet).
Abu Dhabi’s new terminal was initially supposed to open in 2017. To be clear, that timeline wasn’t just a vision many years in advance, but rather in early 2017, the plan was still for the terminal to open the same year. However, shortly thereafter, it was announced that there would be a delay of up to two years on the terminal, with a new planned opening of 2019.
In 2019 it was looking like the new terminal would actually open, and trials were even run with volunteers, to make sure the terminal was largely operating as planned from a passenger experience standpoint. At the time, the terminal was allegedly 98% complete.
Unfortunately even following that, not a whole lot happened. In 2021 we then learned that the operator of the airport had canceled its contract with the consortium that was supposed to be building the nearly $3 billion terminal, even though the project was nearly complete.
For nearly six years now, Abu Dhabi has had a terminal that’s nearly ready to go, but it remains closed.
Why the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal hasn’t opened
Construction delays are common, especially at airports. For example, there was the whole disaster of Berlin Brandenburg Airport, possibly the most dysfunctional airport project we’ve ever seen. While Abu Dhabi did encounter some minor issues with its new terminal, that doesn’t seem to be the root cause of the delay in the terminal’s opening.
Rather the delay seems to largely be because the government of Abu Dhabi has shifted its aviation strategy in recent years. The Midfield Terminal isn’t actually currently needed in terms of capacity.
The idea for the new Midfield Terminal was developed at a time when Etihad wanted to become a major global airline, and compete with both Emirates and Qatar. At the time Etihad had hundreds of planes on order, and was going to get bigger year-after-year, and as a result needed a bigger airport.
Starting about five years ago, the government of Abu Dhabi had a change of heart, and wasn’t willing to pour endless money into the airline anymore. Since then, Etihad has become more of a boutique airline, and the airline has essentially shrunk itself into profitability.
Capacity-wise, there’s no need for the Midfield Terminal. However, in terms of passenger experience, Abu Dhabi sure could use a new terminal. The way I see it, this could play out in one of a few ways:
- Will the old terminals be closed altogether, and all operations will be moved to the new terminal?
- Will multiple terminals remain operational, and just be underutilized?
- Will the opening of the new terminal just be delayed endlessly, as a cost saving measure?
- While perhaps unlikely, could the new terminal project be canceled altogether, even though it’s so close to completion, given that there’s no real need for it?
Could the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal open in 2023?
Momberger Airport Information is reporting that the new Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal will open toward the end of 2023. Specifically, the opening will likely take place on December 2, 2023, which is the UAE’s National Day.
The plan is allegedly to permanently shut down Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and to stop using Terminal 3. That means all operations would move to the Midfield Terminal, though if demand grows enough, Terminal 3 could be reopened in the future.
It’s anyone’s guess if this is how things play out. Even if the intent is to open the new terminal later this year, a lot can change between now and then.
Personally I’m inclined to believe that the new terminal will in fact open in the not too distant future:
- Aviation in Abu Dhabi has stabilized, and Etihad is in a good spot, no longer lighting billions of dollars on fire
- Even if the additional capacity of the new terminal isn’t needed, surely everyone in Abu Dhabi wants a better airport experience, and the new terminal would offer that
- Since the new terminal is more or less complete, it’s not like that big of an investment is required anymore to get this terminal opened
Bottom line
Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new Midfield Terminal still hasn’t opened, six years after its initial intended opening date. The delay isn’t due to some construction disaster, but rather because the terminal just hasn’t been needed for the past several years, as Etihad has been shrinking rather than growing.
It’s now being reported that the Midfield Terminal will open in late 2023, around the UAE’s National Day. Here’s to hoping that this timeline sticks, because it sure would be nice for Etihad to have a more competitive ground experience, especially given other hubs in the region.
What’s your take on when the Abu Dhabi Midfield Terminal will open?
I worked in the construction of MTB. Have my name etched in many secret locations throughout. I just need to check whether weather took those off.
This terminal is vaporware
One crucial aspect missed is that the market has changed. More passengers will travel with low cost carriers and ultra low cost carriers making air travel accessible to the larger percentage of the market that was not the focal point of the legacy carriers. For the price of a fancy dinner one is able to see another country with the low cost carriers. The summer of 2022 and AUH was swamped. The midfield should have...
One crucial aspect missed is that the market has changed. More passengers will travel with low cost carriers and ultra low cost carriers making air travel accessible to the larger percentage of the market that was not the focal point of the legacy carriers. For the price of a fancy dinner one is able to see another country with the low cost carriers. The summer of 2022 and AUH was swamped. The midfield should have opened a year ago. The authorities were napping on covid pills unfortunately
The new terminal is much needed if Abu Dhabi is to be taken as a serious transit spot compared to Dubai and Doha. Even Oman has a better and beautiful new airport.
I would say its needed, having connecting flights on EY in the nighttime peak hours is not fun these days and I think a "zoo" would be an appropriate description (including the business lounge at that time).
Abu Dhabi airport needs a new terminal with more space for transit passengers. I was there in January 2023 and have to say it is totally full everywhere. Terminal 3 was so crowded that there is nowhere to sit and the duty free area and the place where the restaurants are is too small for the amount of people waiting for connecting flights.
I pray that this new terminal will finally open. It would...
Abu Dhabi airport needs a new terminal with more space for transit passengers. I was there in January 2023 and have to say it is totally full everywhere. Terminal 3 was so crowded that there is nowhere to sit and the duty free area and the place where the restaurants are is too small for the amount of people waiting for connecting flights.
I pray that this new terminal will finally open. It would also be a way for Etihad Airways to retain its guests, because I think everyone who has been through this mess is thinking about whether they want to experience it again.
I remember landing in Abu Dhabi at sunset in July 2018 to connect back to the States and seeing this gleaming building, which I thought was the terminal. Then as we continued to taxi and were taken to a remote stand I realized that was the mid-field terminal. It's so crazy. This is not like the Berlin airport debacle. Even the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced, built, and opened most phases...
I remember landing in Abu Dhabi at sunset in July 2018 to connect back to the States and seeing this gleaming building, which I thought was the terminal. Then as we continued to taxi and were taken to a remote stand I realized that was the mid-field terminal. It's so crazy. This is not like the Berlin airport debacle. Even the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced, built, and opened most phases of the LaGuardia and Newark's new Terminal A in a reasonable amount of time--especially by NYC-area standards for construction delays.
Even of it does open I bet you will have remote stands
I have a flight through there 12/7 so that would be nice
Being part of the team who supervised the construction and abu dhabi residents..hoping to see operational this year because it's a huge & beautiful airport..
What does this mean if anything for the future Dubai World Center airport? Isn't that airport between Dubai and Abu Dhabi?
That airport is primarily used for cargo flights. About a decade ago, it was planned to develop it into a mega airport (I believe the biggest airport in the world), but that plan wasn't followed through on and I don't believe any construction started on that project. DXB is big enough as it stands.
Although DXB may need an expansion in the next 15 years as EK will retire their A380s and replace them...
That airport is primarily used for cargo flights. About a decade ago, it was planned to develop it into a mega airport (I believe the biggest airport in the world), but that plan wasn't followed through on and I don't believe any construction started on that project. DXB is big enough as it stands.
Although DXB may need an expansion in the next 15 years as EK will retire their A380s and replace them with smaller jets. My assumption is that they will therefore have more jets than they currently do to meet demand and maintain capacity and will therefore need more gates. And I don't know how much more space is left at DXB. But that's a long way off. But DWC was made with the potential to grow if need.
Wouldn't be surprised to see it become the desert's Mirabel, and focus on cargo only.
No significant passenger airline wants to fly there, and IINM the only two airlines offering scheduled yearround service are Air Cairo and FlyOne. The rest are seasonal charters to Russia and Germany, that barely go out more than weekly.
Kinda pathetic for an airport that was saying it'd be ready to handle 250million passengers by 2027.
I hated current AUH airport in the first place but its have changed after I live in Abu Dhabi.
This old little airport has its own vibe and I can just reach the boarding gate from check in to the boarding gate in 10mins.
Looking forward the new airport with the better experience !
Well I would say the new terminal is very is very much needed in terms of capacity. I flew through Abu Dhabi in March 2020 and you could see lots of people but it still worked. I went again last November and it now looks like a market. Too many people everywhere at anytime, including the lounges. Unpleasantly crowded
Isn’t this one of those sticky situations where some of the terminal may already feel old when it opens? Since the majority was completed in 2017 and it will likely be close to 2024 before it opens certain components may be dated, faded, not as high tech as desired etc. Obviously things become aged partly through use and wear and tear which isn’t happened at AUH, but also through the simple process of existing and...
Isn’t this one of those sticky situations where some of the terminal may already feel old when it opens? Since the majority was completed in 2017 and it will likely be close to 2024 before it opens certain components may be dated, faded, not as high tech as desired etc. Obviously things become aged partly through use and wear and tear which isn’t happened at AUH, but also through the simple process of existing and aging. I’m pretty sure Berlin Brandenburg experienced some similar issues with opening and not quite feeling state of the art.
I remember Manila's (MNL) terminal 3 started construction in '98 and was supposed to open in '02, but opened years later in '08 due to red tape among other things. Sure, it was nice when construction was finished, but now it's a lot left to be desired.
@IrishAlan
That was certainly the case with Berlin Brandenburg. The choice and use of some materials and finishes there (e.g. the awful wood panelling) makes it look dated. But that's stodgy old Berlin.
I have more confidence about the look and feel of Abu Dhabi after seeing dozens of snaps and short vids of the interior space from a friend connected with the project. These were 'normal' work pics (not staged publicity pics) and...
@IrishAlan
That was certainly the case with Berlin Brandenburg. The choice and use of some materials and finishes there (e.g. the awful wood panelling) makes it look dated. But that's stodgy old Berlin.
I have more confidence about the look and feel of Abu Dhabi after seeing dozens of snaps and short vids of the interior space from a friend connected with the project. These were 'normal' work pics (not staged publicity pics) and were not for the public. And they looked TERRIFIC! Nothing dated at all even in the context of 2022/2023. I can't wait for the opening. This is not going to be a Berlin 'expired-upon-arrival' terminal. Quite the opposite.
I was in AUH last week and the airport experience was honestly quite aweful. It was raining heavingly and rain poured into the terminal from the ceilings. Overall the atmosphere was more of a bus terminal than of an international airport. Any change to the status quo will be better for all.
I sort of forget Abu Dhabi and Etihad still exist. Abu Dhabi is an okay place to visit but there's few attractions compared with Dubai. Etihad doesn't have the route network of Emirates or Qatar to make me immediately think of them for a long-haul flight.
A fancy new airport terminal isn't going to change that.
They could at least join Star Alliance or SkyTeam to get more recognition.