qwertyuiop

Hi All

I'm thinking of flying MEL-AUH-JFK with a 12-14 hr stopover in AUH. Arrive 6am-ish, leave 2am-ish the following night)

I would like to take the day to visit the new Louvre museum for personal and professional reasons and maybe a couple of other touristy things. I'm VA platinum and therefore get F lounge access but was hoping to lean on it to manage the day.

Quick Questions:
- Can arrive, use the F Lounge for a shower, breakfast and perhaps a nap and then depart the airport through customs and leave the airport around the time the museum opens?
- Any reason why I can't return to airport in the early to mid evening and use the F lounge for a few hours before hitting the US customs preclearance zone en route to JFK?

Anyone had any experiences or thoughts about whether this would be possible/ straightforward/ impossible for any reason?

Thanks

q.

flyerby

Assuming all visa arrangement are in place, your plan is feasible if upon arrival you just go to EY arrival lounge, have a shower and eat breakfast there.

qwertyuiop

My challenge is that I need to go to the F lounge (not the arrivals lounge) as my status does not entitle me to arrivals lounge access but it does allow F lounge access. Visas shouldn't be a problem.

Can i visit the F lounge on arrival and then later leave the airport?

JayCee1966

Hi qwertyuiop

My understanding is once you are airside of security you cannot then proceed out of the airport. On arrival from MEL you have the choice to go to either transfer/transit route and reman airside or exit via immigration. There are no normal routes from departures area out to immigration and customs.

I'm assuming you are travelling MEL-AUH in economy otherwise J and F passengers can use arrivals lounge. However, as VA Platinum you may be able to use the arrivals lounge for free because Etihad changed their policy on 8th May for EY Platinums to use arrivals even on Y tickets. Worth a call to EY Guest to clarify. Checking the EY website it has been updated (again) and you can now purchase access to Arrivals lounge for AED110/$30, IMO really not worth that much...

We invite our First, Business Class and eligible Etihad Guest members to enjoy our Arrivals Lounge free of charge. We welcome Economy Class guests for a fee of AED 110/$30

EFATO

Yes, absolutely you can do this. I used to do it all the time; indeed many of my business trips to AUH were based around such long stopovers. Just go back to transfer screening when you are done with your shower / breakfast, and ask them to point you back to immigration. It's upstairs. Be sure you have your boarding pass for your next leg printed, then you can get back in no hassles.

Leaving bags in the lounge when you exit the airport is technically not allowed, but I've done it in the past. Certainly for a taxi into town have never experienced issues - as long as I've collected them before my next scheduled flight I've been ok. Learnt my lesson once when I actually flew to Oman for a few hours during such an extended lounge layover - when I got back to the AUH lounge the bag I'd left there had been impounded. I think I must have entered the lounge on the AUH-MCT boarding pass and they assumed the bag was abandoned. Quite a hassle to get it back from airport police before my onward AUH-MXP, much assisted by the wonderful Nancy who also gave me a rather stern telling off

EFATO

Not correct. It's not a "normal" route, sure, but just go back to transfer screening and ask them to let you cross back to the other side. There's a door to the far right and you just walk back over. I do it all the time at both AUH & DOH and am not alone - though the people I encounter doing the same are usually hapless first-timers with no English or Arabic who have been herded into the wrong queue.

If you have any experience of AUH and the type of passengers that flood through the place at times you'll know what I'm talking about. If there wasn't a route back to immigration from airside departures, the place would be a mid-sized city by this point!

erik123

It's easy. I have left after a flight delay to go to a hotel. No issues. Both for T1 and T3. When you go to T1 lounge you walk past exit immigration. T3 I think just follow signs.

qwertyuiop

Thanks to you all. Looks like I'll take my chances and book it. Thanks!

kyushuman

I’ve got a related but different question: I’m flying on an AA award in EY F from NRT to AUH but with an 8-12 hour transit, headed to Cairo or Amman.

JayCee1966

Thanks for the information EFATO, good to know about this option.