Here is the website for Al Ain and it has duty free info there for you. Your flight details should give you the stopover time. I would imagine that every flight would be different. Did you book directly with the airline?

Thanks very much for the link - Booked through Thomson Hols - John and Yaz

I would contact them- they really should have given you the flight details already, but a phone call will fix that!

Flying with a charter airline such as Thomson means this will more than likely be a refueling stop only.Flying with a Gulf based airline eg.Emirates you would be flying into their hub and change aircraft.However you will probably stay with the same aircrtaft and may be allowed off as a transit passenger for 40 minutes or so.Enough time for a stretch of your legs and maybe a quick look for duty free if they have one.

My only experience of this airport was to be diverted there in September when Dubai had fog problems.Our plane did not have enough fuel to hang around waiting for it to lift as the seperation required during fog was much wider.So we sat on the tarmac at Al Ain for an hour and a half and ended up missing our connection to Bangkok.Twenty four hours in a DXB hotel and due to Tonys restrictions re luggage etc we did not have our usual carry on with a full change of clothes wash bag etc.

Still thinking of sending my bill for toothbrushes and paste etc to Downing Street.

Oh the joys of travel

Good luck

It is a re-fuel stop, however you will be allowed off the plane to purchase duty free.

Hi

I have just made the same trip.

Onthe outbound flight, we were diverted to Abu Dabi airport which was quite small, but really nice with lots of nice shops and a good sized duty free.

On the return journey, we went via Al Alain which was a tiny aiport and only has a small/medium duty free and a cafe upstairs. We were allowed off the plane for 40-50 minutes - just enough time to stretch you legs and maybe get a bite to eat (Thomsonfly food is poor).

Hope that helps.

I alway imagined Abu Dhabi airport would be quite big! Where did you go in Thailand Oliver?

Abu Dhabi airport is really small...and quite dated. You can literally do the whole airport in half an hour. Its also very smokey. Its about the only disadvantage of using Etihad as they use it as their hub. It does have one advantage though as its only a short distance between gates.

I despise Abu Dhabi - strange circular building (smoking all the way through!) with lots of leering locals on the top level balcony admiring the scantily clad westerners on the bottom level (why do they dress so flimsily in an Arab Country?? Gets me).

However, the downstairs cafeteria does some EXCELLENT cheap Indian Food.