Free wi-fi for passengers at Abu Dhabi airport

Abu Dhabi: Free wi-fi access to the internet will be made available for passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport from June 1, according to Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the owner-operator of the airport.

The move to provide free wi-fi for all passengers using facilities at Abu Dhabi will put the airport amongst a select group worldwide who do not charge for such services.

In the last twelve months the airport has operated 12 Internet kiosks, each offering 15 minutes of free access per user. In response to the demand from customers for such services ADIA has chosen to introduce free access for all passengers across its three terminals.

Wi-Fi-Free Spot Directory (www.wififreespot.com) indicates that only 152 airports around the world currently offer wi-fi services for free and over 52 percent of these airports are based in the US.

Director of Marketing and Communication Mohammed Al Bulooki said ADAC is sure that the free unlimited access at Abu Dhabi Airport will be warmly welcomed by both the travelling business community as well as all laptop owners.''

In order to assist passengers when switching on their wifi, laptop users will be directed to a ‘landing page' that will offer some details and information about the airport.

Inheriting 12 access points (transmitters) from the previous telecoms system, nine access points will be active in the duty free area, allowing the main area in Terminal 1 to go live first (1 June) with both Terminal 1A and 2 going live shortly.

Terminal 3 will provide wifi as soon as the passenger and retail environment are fully operational later this year.

The concept of free wi-fi access for all passengers will transform the business environment at the airport as well as offering additional personalised entertainment and email access for those able to access the portal.

“The airport is known by many for its ease of access and speed with which baggage can be reclaimed. The free wi-fi and ample access to internet facilities is one more way in which Abu Dhabi International Airport can make it easy, simple and convenient for the traveling public.''

Also effective from 1 June, ADAC has detailed its plans to bring its parking facilities and operations in line with other International and UAE airports as it looks to provide smoother traffic flows and greater availability for passengers needing vehicular access to the airport.

“The upgrading and re-classification of the parking facilities has been driven by a need to match international standards and offer facilities that place passenger parking at the centre of the ongoing development,'' said Bulooki.

Clearly, the airport parking capacity has had to respond to the rapid growth that the airport has been experiencing – last year passenger numbers jumped by 33 per cent and in Q1 of 2008 this reached 35 per cent over the same period the previous year.

“The measures we are taking have been decided based on corresponding norms seen at many busy airports around the world as well as other airports in the UAE,'' added Bulooki.

From 1 June an hourly rate of Dh10 will apply to Terminal 1 car park users and Dh5 per hour for users of the Terminal 2 car park. Short-stay visitors simply dropping off family or friends and leaving within 15 minutes will still have access to both parking facilities free.