Al Bateen Well Placed For Success
Al Bateen provides a separate executive terminal, housed in  the former presidential suite of the main passenger terminal, above. Last year the airport  added another building, right, to serve the crews.
Al Bateen provides a separate executive terminal, housed in the former presidential suite of the main passenger terminal, above. Last year the airport added another building, right, to serve the crews.

Abu Dhabi’s first airport–back in the 1930s–was at Al Bateen, now the site of Al Bateen Executive Airport. With a long, single runway the airport came into military use when the new Abu Dhabi International Airport opened in 1982 and only in recent years has this role started to give way to business aviation, which can benefit greatly from the airport’s close proximity to the city center. In fact, with Abu Dhabi continuing full-steam ahead with a $500 billion diversification effort as part of its 2030 Plan, the future looks bright for Al Bateen.