Cancelled flights, long queues at airports and lost baggage ― it is turning out to be a stressful summer for some holidaymakers.
It is enough to make one yearn for the simpler, more carefree days of aviation, as this photograph shows.
This was Abu Dhabi’s first airport, in the early 1960s. The facilities consisted of a windsock, fuel drum and a fire extinguisher. A rudimentary “no smoking” sign can be seen on the right.
The photograph was taken by David Riley, a British citizen who lived here then, just as a Gulf Aviation flight, most probably from Bahrain, touched down. Gulf Aviation step ladders in the centre of the photograph were used by passengers to disembark. From there, Land Rovers typically took visitors over sand tracks to the town. Just out of shot is the old terminal building.
“It was early evening as I landed and I can still see the sun low in the sky going down over a view of the soft sand, a few palm trees and the occasional barasti house with the Ruler’s Palace [Qasr Al Hosn] in the distance,” Riley says of his first arrival into Abu Dhabi in 1962.
“Some would say it was very ‘romantic'. I must confess I did wonder where I had come to at the time,” he says.
But Riley, who is now back in the UK, says, "I needn’t have worried as it is one of the most enjoyable places I have lived and worked”.
There was only a small expatriate community in Abu Dhabi then. The Club opened in 1962 and construction of the Beach Hotel, Abu Dhabi’s first, finished the same year. The first shipments of oil also left from the emirate in 1962. Riley recalled a few small shops selling basic supplies ― tinned food, cigarettes, condensed milk and rice ― when he first arrived, but at the time a lot of fresh food was flown in on these daily flights from Bahrain.
“Going to the landing strip in the late afternoon to meet the flight from Bahrain was one of the things one did,” says Riley, who worked for the British Bank of the Middle East, which became part of HSBC.
“It was quite common to meet friends there who were in a similar situation. It was also a good opportunity to see who was coming in.”
Riley previously recalled an incident one night when an injured oil worker was taken from a desert camp to Abu Dhabi at night. Because the air strip was not lit, several people drove to the airfield in their Land Rovers and lit it up using their vehicle headlamps, allowing the pilot to take off for Bahrain where the stricken man received life-saving treatment.
But time has moved on. Gulf Aviation has become Gulf Air, while Abu Dhabi’s airport moved to Al Bateen in the late 1960s before shifting to its current off-island location in January, 1982. More than six decades on, Abu Dhabi airport expects at least 10.7 million passengers to pass through its main airport in 2022, more than double last year’s number as business surges back after the Covid-19 pandemic. A huge new terminal ― Midfield ― is also taking shape.
The original terminal building, meanwhile, still stands today in the grounds of Abu Dhabi Media off Sultan bin Zayed the First and Al Salsabeel Street. It is a gentle reminder of simpler aviation times.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Fringe@Four Line-up
October 1 - Phil Nichol (stand-up comedy)
October 29 - Mandy Knight (stand-up comedy)
November 5 - Sinatra Raw (Fringe theatre)
November 8 - Imah Dumagay & Sundeep Fernandes (stand-up comedy)
November 13 - Gordon Southern (stand-up comedy)
November 22 - In Loyal Company (Fringe theatre)
November 29 - Peter Searles (comedy / theatre)
December 5 - Sinatra’s Christmas Under The Stars (music / dinner show)
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Specs
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Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
