iniBuilds has recently previewed their upcoming rendition of Abu Dhabi International Airport (OMAA) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, serving Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates with a yearly average of 5.2 million passengers.

‍

It was conceived in 1974 as part of the government’s plan to modernize the nation. It used to be served by Al Bateen Airport, which was deemed too hard to access due to its location on an island connected to the mainland by a single bridge.

‍

A site for the construction was found sometime in the mid-1970s, and construction work started in 1979. Inaugurated in 1979, the new airport featured a circular satellite
terminal with a single connection to a semi-circular terminal, allowing more aircraft to park simultaneously. Upgrades were conducted in the 1990s and 2000s to expand its passenger handling capabilities.

‍

A new terminal (Terminal 2) was opened in 2005 to relieve stress on the main terminal. It did not feature any aerobridges and depended on buses to move passengers from terminal to plane.

‍

Terminal 3, inaugurated in 2009, was built to allow for extra passenger traffic before the opening of the new midfield terminal, scheduled for 2017. It boosted the passenger capacity from 7 million to 12 million.

‍

The former terminals were all closed in 2023 and replaced by Terminal A, the so-called Midfield Terminal, which has a capacity for up to 60 million passengers yearly. Covering an area of 780,000 square meters, it’s one of the largest terminals in the world. It can handle 79 A380s and 11,000 passengers per hour at peak.

‍

It’s a hub for Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways, Etihad Cargo, and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi. Aeroflot, Air France, Air India, British Airways, Hainan Airlines, IndiGo, Pakistan International Airlines, Pobeda, Smartwings, SunExpress, Turkish Airlines, and Vistara serve it, among many others.

‍

The scenery will feature a highly detailed rendition of the airport, with custom ground textures, custom jetways, terminal interiors, custom ground service equipment, and more.

‍

There’s no release date or price information yet, but Threshold will keep you informed!

‍