ABU DHABI — Soaring curved glass panels flood Zayed International Airport with natural light, creating an atmosphere more akin to a luxury resort than a transit hub that handles 11,000 passengers an hour.

The airport, considered one of the Middle East’s most ambitious infrastructure transformations, opened just over a year ago and aims to be a destination where passengers want to linger. And spend accordingly.

The airport’s redesign increased its retail footprint by 55 percent to 375,000 square feet, and the transformation has delivered exceptional results for retailers. Average traveler spend more than doubled since the opening of the new airport. It’s home to 163 brands including luxury boutiques Hermès, Saint Laurent and Gucci; regional brands Arabian Oud and Al Jaber Gallery; the world’s first Muji airport store, as well as award-winning sneaker concept store Presented By. The first quarter of 2025 saw Zayed International Airport receive a net promoter score of 75 — positioning it among the highest rated airports globally.

Elena Sorlini, managing director and chief executive officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, attributes this success to their hospitality-driven approach. “Traditionally, airports tend to see passengers as a transaction,” she said. “We see them as guests. Everything here is designed to reflect Abu Dhabi’s heritage of generosity and hospitality.”

This strategy fits Abu Dhabi’s broader initiative to establish itself as a global destination and cultural capital. The emirate is investing in world-class attractions, from the upcoming Zayed National Museum to Disney World Abu Dhabi, announced in May. These developments are alongside landmarks like the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

“We’re not just the gateway to Abu Dhabi,” Sorlini said of the new airport. “We are the brand introduction. That means we must mirror the city’s sophistication from the moment someone steps off the plane.”

Located eight hours by flight from 80 percent of the world’s population, Zayed International connects travelers to more than 130 destinations. However, transit passengers make up only half the traffic — an even split unusual for a Middle Eastern hub.

“We have a high proportion of point-to-point passengers who are actually coming to stay in Abu Dhabi, not just transit,” Sorlini said.

This creates ideal conditions for luxury retail, as tourists arrive “in holiday mode” and ready to spend, unlike traditional transit passengers seeking travel essentials.

Performance metrics demonstrate success across categories. The new airport has seen a 26 percent jump in perfume and cosmetics sales, with luxury retail experiencing more than a 43 percent uplift. The airport received a score of 4.46 for retail offerings in 2024 — beating the regional average of 4.23 and establishing itself as a regional leader in travel retail excellence.

Designed for Seamless Journeys

The 8-million-square-foot facility, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, features an X-shaped building with four themed piers inspired by Abu Dhabi’s landscapes — desert, sea, city and oasis. At the center sits the 72-foot-tall installation of 1,632 curved glass panels, which facilitate energy-saving airflow while bathing the terminal in natural light.

Aside from design, a key element of creating a luxury experience is the airport’s “seamless travel” approach, which uses biometric technology to make traveler transit time more efficient. “Our ultimate goal is to create a journey where passengers don’t need to use any documents to go through the airport,” Sorlini said. “Security and speed should coexist with comfort.”

Multi-touchpoint facial recognition, deployed from self-bag drop to boarding gates, enables curb-to-gate travel in just 12 minutes. The airport also offers U.S. Customs pre-clearance facilities — the only such service in the Middle East and Asia — allowing passengers to clear U.S. customs in Abu Dhabi.

In addition to the retail offerings, the dining portfolio has been curated to enhance the travel experience, with Todd English’s first airport restaurant alongside premium concepts like Taste of India, Camden Food Co. and local artisanal cafés.

“We want our passengers to be happy, to enjoy themselves, to spend time and money in a place that is special and beautiful,” Sorlini emphasized.

Key to the airport’s luxury positioning is understanding affluent travelers’ evolving demographics. Sorlini said passenger profiles are changing quarterly, but overall “the average age of our passengers is quite young.”

The airport leverages activations and pop-up experiences to drive spending. “Every time there are activations, the numbers increase quite dramatically,” Sorlini explained, pointing to a 6 percent jump in spend-per-passenger during activation periods.

Looking ahead, Sorlini said they are actively exploring ways to capture business class passengers in airline lounges. “We are exploring how we get these guests out of the lounges and spending, or maybe how can we get closer to them through things like personal shopping and e=commerce integration,” Sorlini said.