Guidelines for passengers departing from, arriving into, or transferring through Abu Dhabi International Airport
Dear Passenger,
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Abu Dhabi International Airport.
We have implemented a wide range of health and safety protocols across our facilities. These have been designed to keep you and your fellow travellers safe and healthy during your visit.
These measures vary, depending on whether you are travelling to or departing from the emirate of Abu Dhabi or other emirates in the UAE.
Please take care to ensure you are aware of what measures you need to follow to ensure a safe and seamless experience at our airport.
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Guidelines for passengers departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport and from the emirate of Abu Dhabi
Please make sure to follow the below guidelines if you are departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport:
- You will need to present a negative PCR test result, from a test taken within the past 96 hours, prior to traveling from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
- Check your airline’s guidelines as well as the entry rules and regulations of your final destination and complete any required forms or paperwork prior to your arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
- Where possible, try to check-in online prior to arriving at the airport.
- Please do not arrive at the airport earlier than four hours ahead of your scheduled departure flight time.
- Travellers without confirmed tickets will not be permitted to enter the terminal buildings.
- You must present a paper-based, negative PCR test result (from a test taken within the past 96 hours) upon your arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Please make sure to have downloaded and activated the ALHOSN UAE application on your smart device in order to receive any required test results ahead of departure from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The application is available through the App Store for iOS devices (iPhones) or the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Please make sure you and anyone you’re travelling with is wearing personal protective equipment, consisting of a mandatory face-mask and the recommended disposable hand gloves.
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Guidelines for passengers arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport and entering Abu Dhabi
Please make sure to follow the below guidelines when arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport and remaining within Abu Dhabi Emirate:
- All UAE residents must update their details on uaeentry.ica.gov.ae prior traveling to the UAE.
- Ahead of flying to Abu Dhabi, you must present a negative PCR test result, from a test taken within the past 96 hours. Travellers from the United Kingdom must present a negative PCR test result from a test taken within the past 72 hours, or as required by your airline.
- After you have disembarked from your flight, medical authorities at Abu Dhabi International Airport will perform a free PCR test.
- Following the PCR test, you will be requested to fill in a Quarantine Undertaking form while at the airport.
- As part of Abu Dhabi Emirate’s quarantine guidelines, you need to quarantine for 10 days at home or in a hotel. You are exempt from quarantine if you have travelled on a direct flight from this list of countries.
- If you have arrived from a country that the UAE authorities deem as high-risk, then you will be subject to quarantine at a government facility.
- If you are required to quarantine, you will be provided with an electronic wristband, which you will need to wear throughout the 10-day quarantine period.
- 8 days following your arrival into Abu Dhabi, you will need to conduct a second PCR test. The day of your arrival in Abu Dhabi is counted as day 1. Details will be shared upon arrival.
- Should you receive a negative result, the electronic wristband will be removed by medical authorities after 10 days, and you will have completed your mandatory quarantine.
Please make sure to have downloaded and activated the ALHOSN UAE application on your smart device upon your arrival at Abu Dhabi to receive your test results. The application is available through the App Store for iOS devices (iPhones) or the Google Play Store for Android devices.
The above measures have been implemented to ensure the safety of all the people living in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. We urge you to closely adhere to these procedures. Violating them will result in penalties and fines issued by the Government of Abu Dhabi.
While you’re at Abu Dhabi International Airport, please make sure you and anyone you’re travelling with is wearing personal protective equipment, consisting of a mandatory face-mask and the recommended disposable hand gloves.
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Guidelines for passengers departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport from Dubai or the Northern Emirates
To enjoy a smooth and seamless airport experience, we ask that you follow the below guidelines when preparing to depart from our airport from Dubai or the Northern Emirates:
- Check with your airline and your final destination on testing requirements, and ensure your compliance with any guidelines.
- Confirm that you have completed all the paperwork required by your final destination, and ensure it is complete before beginning your journey.
- You will require a negative PCR test result, received at maximum within the past 48 hours, before crossing the border into the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Alternatively, you may present a negative DPI test result, received at maximum within the past 24 hours, before crossing the Abu Dhabi border.
- Upon crossing the border into Abu Dhabi, proceed directly to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Failing to do so may result in fines and penalties.
Please make sure to have downloaded and activated the ALHOSN UAE application on your smart device in order to receive your test results ahead of departure from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The application is available through the App Store for iOS devices (iPhones) or the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Please make sure you and anyone you’re travelling with is wearing personal protective equipment, consisting of a mandatory face-mask and the recommended disposable hand gloves.
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Guidelines for passengers arriving into Abu Dhabi International Airport and travelling to Dubai or the Northern Emirates
To enjoy a smooth and seamless airport experience, we ask that you take note of the below guidelines before and during your trip through Abu Dhabi:
- Check with your airline and your final destination on requirements for tests that you need to conduct ahead of flying. Make sure you have a negative PCR test result, from a test taken within the past 96 hours, prior to beginning your journey.
- After you have disembarked from your flight in Abu Dhabi, medical authorities at the airport will perform a free, mandatory PCR test.
- You will need to inform the medical authorities that you will be travelling directly out of Abu Dhabi Emirate, to Dubai or any of the Northern Emirates. This will enable you to be exempted from mandatory quarantine in Abu Dhabi.
- You will only be permitted to travel to another emirate by official Airport Taxi, Etihad Chauffeur, or Etihad Express Coach.
- After selecting your preferred mode of transport, leave Abu Dhabi International Airport and head directly to your final destination.
- If for any reason you are unable to secure approved transportation to your final destination outside of Abu Dhabi, you will be required to follow standard Abu Dhabi entry and quarantine guidelines, which can be found here.
Please make sure to have downloaded and activated the ALHOSN UAE application on your smart device in order to receive your PCR test results following your arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The application is available through the App Store for iOS devices (iPhones) or the Google Play Store for Android devices.
Please make sure you and anyone you’re travelling with is wearing personal protective equipment, consisting of a mandatory face-mask and the recommended disposable hand gloves.
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Guidelines for passengers transferring through Abu Dhabi International Airport
To enjoy a smooth and seamless airport experience, we ask that you take note of the below guidelines when transferring through our airport:
- Check with your airline and your final destination on requirements for tests that you need to conduct ahead of flying.
- Make sure you have a negative PCR test result, from a test taken within the past 96 hours, prior to arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
- You will not be required to quarantine or self-isolate.
- You will undergo a thermal scan to ensure that your temperature is in a healthy range.
The above measures have been implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19. Please ensure that you are familiar with and have complied with all requisite protocols to ensure that your trip through Abu Dhabi International Airport is smooth and convenient.
Regards,
Abu Dhabi International Airport
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have further queries on travelling through Abu Dhabi International Airport, please reference our FAQs document below.
General Measures
According to the security guidance of the General Civil Aviation Council on 29 April 2020, passengers can carry hand sanitiser liquid of up to 250ml in a container.
Hand sanitizes have been installed across all the airport facilities, including Terminal buildings.
As part of the precautionary and preventive measures adopted by the UAE to contain the spread of COVID-19, the UAE authorities have suspended the issuance of entry visas. Moreover, all commercial passenger flights to and from the UAE have been suspended since 26 March 2020.
Despite the passenger flight suspension, Abu Dhabi International Airport has facilitated a number of repatriation and humanitarian flights for Emiratis returning to the UAE as well as expatriates and foreign nationals departing for their countries of origin.
We are coordinating and collaborating with all relevant authorities including the Abu Dhabi Government, General Civil Aviation Authority, Department of Health (DoH), and Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) to ensure every available precautionary measure is being taken to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of employees, stakeholders and passengers.
We have taken a series of comprehensive precautionary measures across our facilities, where all incoming passengers arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport, as well as employees, will undergo the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing. Other measures include the deployment of advanced sterilisation technologies to clean common areas, the enforcement of social distancing guidelines, workforce cluster management, and thermal screening.
The cleaning services have been intensified across the airport facilities and workplaces. The disinfection schedule of offices, floors, counter surfaces, washrooms, prayer rooms, parking areas, smoking areas, and additional spaces has been accelerated particularly following peak travel hours. Aircraft arriving and departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport are also undergoing thorough disinfectant cleansing as an added precaution.
Moreover, Abu Dhabi Airports has partnered with Tawazun Strategic Development Fund (TSDF) to launch the new CoDi BOT UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), for the disinfection of viruses including COVID-19. CoDi BOT UGV will be piloted from May throughout Abu Dhabi International Airport, where it will be targeting virus strains on surfaces with controlled bursts of UV rays, screening individuals through thermal infrared monitoring, and disinfecting areas using liquid cleaning agents.
Abu Dhabi Airports has also commenced the deployment of SterixGates, designed and manufactured by UAE-based company SterixEco, across key entrances and exits at Abu Dhabi International Airport. The contactless gates operate by first scanning the body temperature of a person upon their entrance into the gate and alerting relevant parties if the occupant has a higher than normal temperature. After the temperature test, a full disinfection of the occupant begins using SterixEco’s safe and internationally accredited disinfectant liquid. The liquid is dispersed in a fog-like manner, sanitizing a person from head-to-toe in as little as three seconds. The alcohol-free disinfectant liquid kills over 99.9% of all germs and viruses, including COVID-19.
Abu Dhabi International Airport is ensuring a safe, secure and efficient transport of essential supplies and equipment through Abu Dhabi International Airport, in addition to facilitating a number of repatriation and humanitarian flights, while implementing comprehensive health and safety measures across the airport.
Cargo and airfreight
Cargo operations at the airport are ongoing, facilitating the supply of vital equipment and goods to communities and healthcare facilities across the UAE and the world. Moreover, logistics operators and cargo carriers such as Etihad Cargo have increased operations, making use of available capacity during the airport’s reduced passenger flight schedule.
Repatriation and humanitarian flights
Following the suspension of all commercial passenger flights to and from the UAE on 26 March 2020, Abu Dhabi International Airport has facilitated a number of repatriation and humanitarian flights for Emiratis returning to the UAE, expatriates and foreign nationals departing for their countries of origin, and UAE residents returning from abroad to the UAE. In addition to enabling passengers reach their desired destinations, the flights are utilising their belly-hold capacity to transport critical cargo.
Passengers
If any passenger shows symptoms in line with COVID-19, they must follow the below measures as a priority:
- Notify the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) by dialling 800 11111
- Follow the Department of Health’s (DoH) advice regarding quarantine and other measures.
- Self-isolation while waiting for the PCR test results
- If the test is positive, a team from the DoH will contact the passenger to start the treatment.
- If the test is negative, the passenger will still have to self-quarantine for 14 days.
For more details, please click here.
Cargo Operations
Terminal Facilities and Services
As per the UAE government’s most recent directives that restaurants across Abu Dhabi are allowed to re-open for dine-in guests, restaurants and cafes in the Terminal buildings are open, but with enhanced safety measures in place. These measures include the below:
- Capacity cannot exceed 30 per cent and payment can only be made electronically.
- Staff and customers must wear masks and gloves and disinfectants must be used frequently.
- People over the age of 60 and younger than 12 are prohibited from entering.
- Up to two people only are allowed to be seated at each table, which must be distanced at least 2.5 metres apart.
- Outlets must only serve food and drink using disposable cutlery, and hand sanitiser dispensers must be put up.
For any updates on flight status, please click here or contact your airline directly.