just booked flights with etihad for thailand, and the flight home has got a 14 hour wait in abu dhabi. i wasn't bothered about the wait when i booked it because i just thought i'll have a day in abu dahbi but i'vr just been speaking to someone about it and they said i might not be able to leave the airport....

So has anyone had a long lay over there before and will know wether or not you'll be allowed to leave the airport?

i had similar flights with emirates a few years ago done the same thing long wait going 8 hours long wait coming back 14 hours and i had to wait in the airport i think you have to stay in the airport becaause you are only transferring flights i could be wrong dubai airport has hotel rooms you can rent by the hour not sure about abu dhabi you could try paying to go in the guest lounge think he went to the etihad guest and asked them it didn't cost him a lot they have free food and drinks a free bar , free beds ,free showers and spa treatments i had a friend who did it a few years ago or join the etihad guest programme and try and go into the guest lounge you need to be a silver guestcard holder though but if you are going to thailand a lot then well worth it as you collect miles and can exchange them for flights or other things free to join and worth it if you keep flying with etihad emirates and qatar do similar programmes aswell hope this info helps

sorry jumbled up post it should read like this i had similar flights with emirates a few years ago done the same thing long wait going 8 hours long wait coming back 14 hours and i had to wait in the airport i think you have to stay in the airport because you are only transferring flights i could be wrong dubai airport has hotel rooms you can rent by the hour not sure about abu dhabi you could try paying to go in the guest lounge my friend did this a few years ago think he went to the etihad guest and asked them it didn't cost him a lot they have free food and drinks a free bar , free beds ,free showers and spa treatments i've been in the guest lounge before just like a 5 star hotel or join the etihad guest programme and try and go into the guest lounge you need to be a silver guestcard holder though but if you are going to thailand a lot then well worth it as you collect miles and can exchange them for flights or other things free to join and worth it if you keep flying with etihad emirates and qatar do similar programmes aswell hope this info helps

thanks for the info mate doesnt sound like ill be allowed out! ill have to look into it.

anyone else had any more experience of this?

I hate airports. One or two of them are ok but heathrow amsterdam luton and - I hate to tell u- Abu Dhabi are amongst the most shite. One of the reasons why I haven't been back to the uk in years. Abu Dhabi transit area I don't think u can even drink in there, when I was there u couldn't anyway...

However u CAN get sheep's eyeballs, dates, unleavened bread all washed down with camel's milk. Mmmm

This is one of the reasons I was so careful when choosing my flights. I'm flying via hong kong, which means I've got 12 hours of flying without a break, but then only a 2 hour wait in the airport before the connecting flight to phuket.

I would have liked to break the journey up by stopping in Bahrain/Qatar/Dubai for a few hours, but not for half a day!!

Brits get a visa on arrival in UAE and I know people who do this in Dubai all the time. What is the excuse you have been given?

Note that the people in Dubai are probably flying on Emirates - not sure if this makes any difference! But if your flying Etihad this would be the exact equvelant anyway.

Surely the same rules apply - so I dont see why you wouldnt be permitted to leave. They want your money.

Would be decent to visit Farrari World for few hours as its 20mins away from airport.

Haven't been to Abu Dhabi myself, but my father-in-law had a long wait himself, and he too said it was an awful airport.
Whenever I've done multi-airport hops, I've always had to wait in transit lounges. I don't think you will be allowed to leave the airport as it is not your intended destination Darren.Sorry.

that is the blue round one right?

It was ok been to worse. You could drink and smoke, not that i smoke.

Was stuck there one year for eight hours. Just had a few drinks and slept on the seats.

I once booked tickets with Etihad and thought that the connection times were ok until the check-in girl casually told me that the onward flight from Abu Dhabi was 24 hours later than I thought it was. I'd seen the flight times but didn't notice it was a day later.

My wife and daughter weren't looking forward to 24 hours in an airport and neither was I, but it was my own fault.

When we landed I asked if it would be possible to put us on stadby for an earlier flight.

Luckily we were successful.

If you can't get on standby, 14 hours is a long time in any airport. Abu Dhabi's an ok airport upto international standards, but for about 30 pounds extra I'd pay for access to a lounge. Food and drinks are included.

I'm not sure if the big blue/green round dome thing is still there. Last few time i've been, I haven't seen it.

I've done the same. I was stopped from leaving the airport. I was told it was a public holiday and nowhere would be open anyway. Sounds like it happens all the time then. Naff all to do in the airport and take a sweater as they blast the air-con!! was pacing up and down like a mental case,i'll never do it again.

f*ckinhell that doesnt sound good! ill have to pay to go into that lounge someone mentioned. my girlfriend is flying home with me so it wont be too bad. Ive done 10 hours in abu dahbi before but that was over night so there would have been no point in leaving the airport... bought 6000 ciggies as soon as i landed because i didnt know if the duty free shops would shut or not so had to carry them for the whole time aswell haha nightmare... and the shop stayes open all night to make it worse :)

Only ever done 2 Stop over flights .... NEVER AGAIN lol

just booked flights for thailand 25th of june with my 2 pals anyone ever stopped over in bombay? or flew with jet airways india?

cheer!:))

Is it not easier to fly direct ??

Darren hope ya dont smoke?? :-(
and DIDNT smoke the 6,000 in the 10 hours ? arrrrrrrrgh :-(

haha dont smoke or drink mate, same as you but without the hair :)

in the end we got to abu dahbi and getting out of the airport was no problem they give you a 30 day tourist visa stamp on arrival no questions asked, same as thailand.

Although i did get told by someone that they were doing the same as i did on a layover and they mentioned it to Etihad and etihad tried to charge them a fee for whatever reason so if anyone is planning to do it then don't mention it to them.

Herrcutt it would be a lot easier to fly direct but costs a lot more too

How much is the difference ??

Would reckon the best thing to find out is what Country in Europe has the cheapest direct flight and then find a Ryanair or easyjet flight to there and stop over in a decent place - Like amsterdam or even istanbul !

Just looking - Paris direct is about 672 Euros (540GBPS)
Easyjet to Paris - 80Gbps

Indirect Paris to BKK is now at 515euros with oman Air about 415 gbps !

Use Govolo or Skyscanner - which has a good map !

415 is really good, this year i paid about £520 i think with etihad from manchester.

John Paul, I flew from Goa to Calcutta with Jet back in 2007 and sorry man, but they were horrible. Imagine Easy Jet without the frills and luxuries you'd expect with them and you're on the right track. That said, you'll be buzzing going out and knackered on the way home so hopefully you won't find it too dreadful.