Zayed International Airport is an award-winning airport that has enhanced the travel offering in one of the Middle East’s busiest cities. Designed to handle up to 45 million passengers a year, the airport has a built-up area of 742,000 m2, processes 11,000 passengers per hour and operates 79 aircrafts at any given time. Adding this state-of-the-art facility to Abu Dhabi’s rapidly evolving transportation infrastructure offering has strengthened the UAE’s position as a destination of choice and a global hub for trade and business.
Design achievements
Influenced by Abu Dhabi’s natural landscape and Islamic geometric motifs, the airport was designed to be customer-centric and efficient, considering the surrounding context of the Emirates. At the heart of the design is an X-shape that aids the airport’s efficiency and passenger flow. Sitting above road level, the building’s 52m tall façade and its departure hall endow the building with an open, outdoor quality enabling the extension to 49 gatehouses. The use of high-performance glass and a sloping canopy structure helps reduce glare and integrates seamlessly with the country’s dune landscape, utilizing natural light effectively.
Innovative technologies
Equipped with the latest technologies, the airport boasts a range of interconnected biometric systems that invites passengers to enjoy the security, speed and comfort of a seamless, digitized journey from pre-travel to boarding gate, facilitated by self-service kiosks and streamlined security checkpoints. This year, Zayed International Airport will be the only airport in the world to have nine biometric touchpoints in a passenger journey. The multi-biometric entry/exit system has enhanced the passenger experience by decreasing processing times at the airport by 70%, meaning less time in queues and more time for travellers to enjoy the airport’s retail, leisure and F&B facilities.
Our social and environmental focus
Sustainability is a key pillar in Zayed International Airport’s design and operation. The airport has been designed to minimize its impact on the environment, making use of innovative and cutting-edge design elements. The airport is estimated to save 5,300 tonnes of carbon emissions per year, which equates to emissions from 1,060 vehicles (average family usage) for 12 months.
The new airport is Green Building Certified under the PBRS, with 3 Pearls at design stage and 3 Pearls for construction stage. Key initiatives needed to achieve the rating included more than 70% of plants used at the airport are native and adaptive species that are both drought and saline resistant and water efficient fixtures and fittings were installed, resulting in a 45% improvement over the Estidama benchmark figures.
During its construction phase, more than 90% of the steel used was recycled and 82% of the timber used was certified and sourced from legal and sustainable sources. In addition, a remarkable 7,540 solar panel parking shades were installed on the long-term car park. Performing a dual purpose, the panels worked to their primary use of creating renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, but also created shade within the carpark.
In November 2024, the airport was announced as the Transport Project of the Year at the MEED Best Projects Awards. It was also crowned ‘World’s Most Beautiful Airport’ by Prix Versailles, World Architecture and Design Awards.