• Abu Dhabi city check-in service at the Cruise Terminal in the capital's Zayed Port. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services
    Abu Dhabi city check-in service at the Cruise Terminal in the capital's Zayed Port. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services
  • The Abu Dhabi city check-in service is open seven days a week. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services
    The Abu Dhabi city check-in service is open seven days a week. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services
  • Users can check in up to 24 hours before their flights at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports
    Users can check in up to 24 hours before their flights at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports
  • Passengers can also acquire their boarding passes. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports
    Passengers can also acquire their boarding passes. Photo: Abu Dhabi Airports
  • The check-in service is a help to travellers as passenger numbers surge at Abu Dhabi International airport. Delores Johnson / The National
    The check-in service is a help to travellers as passenger numbers surge at Abu Dhabi International airport. Delores Johnson / The National
  • The city check-in service is open from 9am to 9pm. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services
    The city check-in service is open from 9am to 9pm. Photo: Morafiq Aviation Services

Abu Dhabi airport reopens bag drop service in city centre


John Dennehy
  • English
  • Arabic

Abu Dhabi Airports has resumed a service that allows passengers to check in for their flight before heading to the airport.

Check-in can be done at the Zayed Port Cruise Terminal seven days a week from 9am to 9pm.

People can get a boarding pass there and skip the hassle of taking bags to the capital's airport.

It also reduces waiting times and congestion at the main airport.

Currently only passengers flying on Etihad Airways can use the service but more airlines are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

The service resumes as travel demand surges and passenger traffic rebounds at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

“Etihad Airways has resumed its city check-in services at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal, effective October 19,” a representative for the airline said.

Passengers can check in from a maximum 24 hours in advance to a minimum four hours before they depart.

The cost for an adult is Dh45; D25 for a child, while an infant (under 2) is Dh15. The cost for a family of four is Dh120.

Abu Dhabi Airports previously operated a city check-in service in the capital's Al Zahiyah area adjacent to Abu Dhabi Mall, but this closed in 2019.

It is believed the new location was picked because of the ability to handle cruise and general passengers and the fact it is served by several bus routes and has wide availability of parking.

Buses Number 9 (Marina Mall) and Number 44 (Armed Forces Officers Club) stop at the facility.

The service is run by Morafiq Aviation Services and it confirmed to The National that it expected demand to be strong at the terminal amid the boom in travel and the staging of the Fifa World Cup in Qatar that starts on November 20.

It added that it expected more airlines to be added and the service could run 24-hours a day if the demand is there.

It also comes as passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport surges amid a post-coronavirus increase in demand and easing global travel restrictions.

The airport handled 3.6 million passengers in the three months to the end of June, an almost fivefold increase on the same quarter last year

The airport said it expected to handle 13 million passengers this year, up from a projection in February of 10 million. It also said passenger traffic could reach pre-coronavirus levels by 2024 if not sooner.

For more information on the city check-in service, meanwhile, passengers can call the terminal at 02 5833345.

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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

On sale: now

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Matt%20Drummond%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlyla%20Browne%2C%20Alice%20Parkinson%2C%20Sam%20Everingham%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away

It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.

The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.

But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.

At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.

The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.

Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.

And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.

At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.

And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.

* Agence France Presse

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport

Price, base: Dh5.1 million

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm

Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Updated: October 31, 2022, 2:54 PM