ADDF retail area up by 1,350 sqm

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) increased its retail area by 1350 sqm this month, with the opening of two new terminals at the international airport to cater to the growing number of passengers.

By A Staff Reporter

Published: Fri 19 Aug 2005, 12:00 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 7:14 PM

The Gulf Traveller Terminal, dedicated to Gulf Air all-economy travellers only, is below Terminal 1 which is currently the main airport terminal. The second Terminal 2 is located 900 metres away from Terminal 1, and would cater to 15 airlines.

Terminal 2 has 850 sqm of retail space in addition to an arrival store and landside shop of 250 metres.

Under the directives of Shaik Ahmed bin Saif Al Nayan, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation, ADDF management sought a designer for all the retail outlets and the contract was awarded to European designer Raylin. The retail area was then designed to offer similar shopping environment and style as Terminal 1 and follows the shop-in-shop concept with colour-coded categories.

Passenger profiles and needs were taken into consideration in the design of the terminal ensuring spacious, easy traffic flow throughout the building.

A large area of the retail space caters to sale of beverages and tobacco as well as food and chocolate items. Other areas are for beauty and fragrance products, watches, gift items and gold where top brands in all categories will find place.

A VIP lounge as well as a café with both self-service and serviced tables are other attractions. A café can be found on the landside and a shop stocking a variety of products including confectionery, magazines and various travel necessities. Special counters for purchasing the Big Ticket Dh1.5 million raffle tickets are located in both airside and landside retail areas.

The popular Golden Class service is available in this terminal. Golden Class is a special personal meet-and-greet service. Passengers making use of this service also get preferential rates for the VIP lounge with complimentary refreshments. Other benefits are preferential rates for limousine hire to and from Abu Dhabi city, fresh flower bouquets and issuance of international drivers’ licences at Dh100.

"We are expecting an upswing in sales of 15 per cent by the end of the year and another 20 per cent next year when we hope to exceed the $100 million mark," said Mohamed Mounib, Managing Director of ADDF and Catering.

In the last two months, 250 new staff members who were employed by ADDF and Catering, went through an extensive training programme, he said.

"With the evolution of Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, traffic flow is expected to increase to a total of six million passengers by the end of 2005. These new facilities will ensure quality service," Mounib added.