Zayed International Airport handled 15.5 million travellers in the first half of 2025, up 13.2 per cent annually, driven by home carrier Etihad Airways' growth and the addition of new airlines serving Abu Dhabi.
Passenger traffic across Abu Dhabi's five airports grew 13.1 per cent year-on-year to 15.8 million in the January to June period, marking 17 consecutive quarters of growth, state-owned operator Abu Dhabi Airports said on Monday. The five airports are Zayed International, Al Ain International, Al Bateen Executive, Delma Island and Sir Bani Yas Island Airport.
"The first six months of this year have posed some operational challenges, yet our ... mid-year results demonstrate the resilience of our network and the collaborative partnerships that underpin our growth," said Elena Sorlini, managing director and chief executive at Abu Dhabi Airports.
The growth in airport traffic volume comes despite recent geopolitical tension in the Middle East. An Iranian strike on a US military base in neighbouring Qatar last month led to brief airspace closures in the Gulf.
The reported increase comes shortly after Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announced that from September it would no longer be operating from the emirate. In the first half of the year, 16 new destinations were added to Zayed International Airport's network. New airlines and routes include China Eastern Airlines’ Shanghai service, Air Seychelles’ six weekly flights and Syrian carrier Fly Cham’s flights to Damascus. IndiGo also expanded its presence at Zayed International, with new routes to Madurai, Bhubaneswar and Vishakhapatnam.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi last week said it would increase operational capacity by 40 per cent in 2025 with the addition of four Airbus A320s to its fleet.
Zayed International Airport's traffic volume grew as home airline Etihad Airways carried more passengers and the emirate pushes to attract more international tourists.
During the first half of the year, Etihad Airways carried 10.2 million travellers, a 17 per cent annual rise. The average passenger load factor for the year to date stands at 87 per cent.
The airline is also revising its growth targets upwards to carry 38 million passengers by 2030, from a previous goal of 33 million, Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad's chief executive, told The National this month.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline aims to expand by 15 per cent every year until the end of the decade as it carries more passengers, adds 20 planes annually and reaps the benefits of joint venture partnerships with Ethiopian Airlines and China Eastern, he said.
Abu Dhabi is pursuing a strategy of drawing more international tourists and business visitors as it adds more attractions to its skyline and Mice events (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions).
"As Abu Dhabi’s tourism and trade prospects rapidly advance, our airports are well positioned to support and scale that growth," Ms Sorlini said.
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
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Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
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If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
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Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
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Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Company profile
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Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
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