Abu Dhabi's Al Bateen airport to welcome wide-body aircraft as it looks to new era

Runway has been widened and certified to formally allow larger aircraft to land

Work to upgrade facilities at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi is complete. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The airport is scheduled to reopen on Saturday. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The airport in the 1970s. Photo: Ron McCulloch

Concorde at Al Bateen Airport in July 1974. Photo: Peter Alvis

Al Bateen Executive Airport has ambitious plans for the future. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The runway during upgrade works. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The refurbishments mean the airport will be able to accommodate larger aircraft. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

Key upgrades were made while the airport was closed. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

Al Bateen Executive Airport. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The revamp included the building of a substantial new boundary wall, runway resurfacing, improved ground lighting and landscaping. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi will reopen on Saturday following the completion of a major upgrade project.

A senior official at Abu Dhabi Airports on Wednesday told The National that the expansion ― particularly widening the runway ― will allow the airport to formally handle larger aircraft.

Other works undertaken since the private jet facility closed for all but helicopters on May 11 include a substantial new boundary wall, runway resurfacing, upgraded ground lighting, enhanced signage and landscaping.

“It has been a major project involving different elements of the airport,” said Matar Al Suwaidi, senior vice president of terminal operations at Abu Dhabi Airports.

“Everything you can see and touch is being enhanced.”

Airport ushers in new era

The refurbishments mark a new era for an airport that was the first modern international facility in Abu Dhabi.

Al Bateen opened in the late 1960s to cater for a surge in people arriving into Abu Dhabi after oil was found. It replaced the sand airstrip, had a distinctive concrete-roofed terminal and even gave its name to “Airport Road”, which has since been renamed Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street.

But it was clear even by the 1970s that demand in Abu Dhabi was likely to necessitate a much larger facility. “Al Bateen is at the heart of Abu Dhabi and on the island, so expansion would be limited. The leadership foresaw the airport [needed] to be moved away from[the] island,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

The current main airport opened in 1982 to cater for increased demand, and, in the years since, Al Bateen functioned as a military base before becoming a dedicated airport for private jets.

Works at Al Bateen Executive Airport include runway resurfacing. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

It is also getting ready to host Abu Dhabi Air Expo from November 1 to 3. The event is expected to attract more than 18,000 visitors and host more than 300 manufacturers and suppliers.

The project has been timely in this regard because the runway will change from a 4C to a 4D ― in airport terminology ― which means it can handle twin aisle jets, such as Boeing 767s, whereas before it could only accommodate single aisle planes such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s.

Twin aisle jets would have landed at Bateen before but this required permission from the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority. Certifying the airport as a 4D means certain types of twin-aisles can land without needing this permission.

But the works alone do not award the certification and the authority will give its final approval.

“It is not a switch-on and switch-off decision,” Mr Al Suwaidi said. “There is documentation to provide and testing to conclude. It will take some time.”

It is also planned to rename the three existing terminals before the end of the year as part of a branding initiative to further boost the airport.

“There is a very high demand for a [private jet] facility,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

Al Bateen can accommodate 50 parked jets and the people who use the facility include government delegations, business people and high-net-worth individuals from across the world who prize discretion and do want the hassle of flying through a main airport.

"The business model is you have more privacy and the moment you get off the plane [at Bateen] and into the car is 100 metres,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.

“[Some people] are not interested in going to the duty free and from one terminal to another. Here everything is done in one place. A one-stop shop.”

The airport can also accommodate helicopters, with Abu Dhabi Police, a search-and-rescue service and private operator among those based there.

A cost for the works was not disclosed, while final tests are now being carried out before Saturday’s opening.

Abu Dhabi's rich aviation history - in pictures

An aerial shot of a plane over Abu Dhabi in the early 1960s after taking off from a sand runway close to Sultan bin Zayed the First (Muroor Road) and 17th Street. Photo: David Riley

Passengers wait with their suitcases for a flight at Abu Dhabi's sand airstrip. Photo: BP Archive

On approach to Abu Dhabi's first airfield. The photograph was taken in the mid-1960s. Photo: Michael Stokes

Al Bateen Airport, pictured in the 1970s, replaced the sand strip. Photo: Al Ittihad

Concorde makes an appearance at Al Bateen Airport in August, 1974. The visit was part of a demonstration tour to drum up new customers but also to prove the jet’s capability in hot weather. Photo: Peter Alvis

Abu Dhabi International Airport opened in 1982. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu with the idea that planes would surround a satellite, so they could arrive and depart quickly. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The ceiling of Abu Dhabi airport, said to be designed like a palm tree against the sky. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports

The circular design of Abu Dhabi airport's terminal placed the gates close to each other so people could access planes quickly. Delores Johnson / The National