Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has introduced entry fees for visitors, with UAE residents and international tourists now required to pay for sightseeing access to one of the country’s most prominent cultural and religious landmarks.

According to the official Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC) website, visitors from outside the UAE will pay Dhs10, while Emirates ID holders will be charged Dhs5. Visitors arriving through tour operators will pay Dhs8, while fees for official delegations will be determined by the relevant authority.

The new charges apply to people visiting the mosque for tourism and sightseeing. Access remains free for worshippers, maintaining the site’s primary function as a place of worship.

The introduction of the nominal charges is aimed at supporting the visitor experience and sustainability of services at the landmark, according to reports citing the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre.

Visitors can book their access passes through the mosque’s official website. The mosque is open to visitors from 9am to 8.30pm from Saturday to Thursday. On Fridays, visiting hours are from 9am to 11.30am and 2.30pm to 8.30pm. The centre also operates Sura night tours daily between 9pm and 9am.

Cultural guided tours will continue to be offered free of charge. Led by SZGMC cultural tour specialists, the tours provide visitors with information about the mosque’s architecture and Islamic culture and are available in Arabic and English.

The introduction of fees comes as the landmark continues to attract significant visitor numbers. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre welcomed 3.13 million guests during the first half of 2026, including about 1.24 million visitors and more than 1.84 million worshippers and fasting guests.

Visitors can book directly through the official Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre booking page.

Airlines in the Gulf are expanding their customer offerings through new loyalty and corporate-travel initiatives, with flyadeal partnering with Alrajhi Bank to integrate Mokafaa rewards into its booking channels and Etihad Airways introducing a priority-support service for business travellers.

The moves come as carriers increasingly use digital platforms, loyalty programmes and tailored services to add value beyond the basic flight experience.

flyadeal brings Mokafaa rewards into bookings

Saudi low-cost carrier flyadeal and Alrajhi Bank have entered into a partnership that allows members of the bank’s Mokafaa loyalty programme to earn and redeem points when booking eligible flyadeal flights.

Under the arrangement, Mokafaa members can earn points on qualifying flights booked through flyadeal’s website and mobile application. Accumulated points can also be used toward ticket purchases through the airline’s booking channels.

Read more: Want a free flight? Emirates, flydubai is offering double miles until September 30

The agreement connects flyadeal with Alrajhi Bank’s large customer base while expanding the range of travel-related uses for Mokafaa points.

“We are delighted to partner with Al Rajhi Bank and bring Mokafaa into the flyadeal experience. Our customers can now earn and redeem Mokafaa points seamlessly across our booking channels, whether on our website or app, so every journey with flyadeal delivers more value,” said Mohannad Salman AlSalmi, CIO at flyadeal.

He added that the partnership was intended to support the airline’s digital customer experience as it expands its network in Saudi Arabia and internationally.

Alrajhi Bank said the agreement forms part of its efforts to broaden the Mokafaa programme’s network of participating brands.

“The partnership with flyadeal, one of the leading national airlines, embodies the bank’s commitment to fulfilling customer needs beyond their expectations by transforming their journeys into tangible value that enhances the customer experience,” said Saed Baseet, chief of Marketing and Customer Experience at Alrajhi Bank.

“We will continue to expand the Mokafaa partner network with top brands across various sectors,” he added.

Mokafaa has more than 450 partner brands across more than 30,000 physical locations in Saudi Arabia, according to Alrajhi Bank. Members can use accumulated points through participating partners, including via websites and mobile applications.

The partnership comes as flyadeal continues to expand its network and fleet. The carrier offers multiple fare options and digital booking through its website and mobile application, alongside additional travel services.

Etihad adds priority support for corporate travellers

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways has launched Corporate Care, an enhancement to its Etihad for Business programme aimed at providing eligible corporate customers with additional support during their journeys.

The service focuses particularly on situations involving travel disruption.

According to Etihad, eligible members can receive priority assistance with rebooking, protection of their flights in the event of an aircraft downgrade and consideration of seat preferences when an aircraft change occurs.

Corporate Care also includes dedicated account-management teams for participating organisations and closer coordination with travel management companies (TMCs).

Javier Alija, VP Sales, Digital and Distribution at Etihad Airways, said the service was designed to provide additional support when unexpected changes affect business travel.

“When it matters most, your business deserves more than support. It deserves priority,” Alija said. “Corporate Care is designed to give our Etihad for Business members an enhanced level of support and reassurance, particularly when unexpected disruption affects their travel plans.”

He said the combination of priority assistance, account management and coordination with TMC partners would help corporate customers manage disruptions.

Etihad said organisations interested in Corporate Care can contact their Etihad account manager to discuss the service and its application to their business travel requirements. Further information is also available through the Etihad for Business programme.

The initiatives from flyadeal and Etihad reflect two different approaches to the same broader shift in airline services: using partnerships and targeted programmes to address customer needs beyond the flight itself.

For flyadeal, the focus is on linking air travel with a banking loyalty ecosystem, while Etihad is targeting organisations that require additional support when business travel plans are disrupted. Both developments place greater emphasis on the services surrounding the journey as Gulf carriers compete for customers across leisure and corporate markets.

UAE telecom operator du has deployed what it described as the world’s first six-carrier aggregation configuration on a commercial 5G-Advanced network, combining six 5G new radio carriers across 420 MHz of spectrum in partnership with Nokia.

The deployment brings together frequency division duplex and time division duplex spectrum across the 3.6 GHz, 2.6 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 1.8 GHz and 600 MHz bands, du said on Friday.

The capability was deployed on du’s commercial 5G-advanced standalone network under real-world field conditions and validated using the latest generation of compatible devices, the company said. Nokia supported the deployment using its commercial Habrok massive MIMO radios.

Carrier aggregation allows mobile devices to use several spectrum channels at the same time, effectively creating a wider connection for data transmission.

By aggregating six carriers, du said it can make more network capacity available to compatible devices, supporting higher data speeds, greater capacity and more consistent performance as mobile data demand increases.

Customers using supported devices will see a 5G+ icon when connected to the enhanced network, according to du.

Read: CEO Fahad Al Hassawi on du’s H1 numbers, AI ambition and its next chapter

The operator said the additional capacity would also support more data-intensive applications, including AI-powered services and next-generation mobile applications.

“Bringing six CC 5G carriers together on our commercial network is an important milestone in how we are building the next generation of connectivity in the UAE,” said Saleem AlBlooshi, CTO at du.

“This achievement demonstrates how we can make greater use of our spectrum to create more capacity and deliver stronger network performance as customer needs evolve. It also represents an important step in advancing our 5G+ network while building the foundations for the journey towards 6G, in line with the UAE’s ambitions for next-generation connectivity.”

AlBlooshi said validation on the latest generation of devices demonstrated how advances in network and device technology could work together to expand the capabilities of 5G-Advanced.

The deployment forms part of du’s transition towards 5G-advanced, also referred to as 5G+, which builds on existing 5G networks with improvements in capacity, efficiency and performance.

du said the work also supports the UAE’s national 6G roadmap led by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, as the country develops infrastructure for future generations of mobile connectivity.

Danial Mausoof, VP MI Segment, MEA at Nokia, said carrier aggregation was important for extracting more performance from fragmented spectrum holdings.

“Carrier Aggregation is crucial to getting the best possible 5G advanced performance out of scattered spectrum assets,” Mausoof said.

“This milestone demonstrates Nokia’s leadership in 5G Carrier Aggregation and our ability to deliver commercial-grade performance that meets the demands of next-generation applications.”

du said it would continue investing in its 5G-Advanced network as it develops capabilities intended to support the longer-term transition towards 6G.

The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism has launched the country’s first unified federal tourism identity and a new multi-emirate travel platform as part of efforts to encourage longer stays and higher visitor spending.

The Visit UAE identity is designed to present the country as a single, integrated tourism destination while bringing together the individual attractions and experiences of all seven emirates under one national offering.

The ministry also launched the UAE Grand Tour, a platform developed with Rocket International, tourism authorities across the seven emirates and private-sector operators.

The platform offers itineraries of up to 14 days covering more than one emirate, with routes spanning all seven emirates.

Visitors can search for and book programmes through travel-sector partners, while tour operators and travel agents can use dedicated tools to develop multi-emirate packages for international markets.

The itineraries cover family, cultural, nature-based and adventure tourism and include information on participating hotels, attractions, tourism experiences and transport services.

In a report published by state news agency WAM, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, said the initiatives were aimed at creating a more integrated national tourism offering.

“The launch of the ‘Visit UAE’ identity and the ‘UAE Grand Tour’ platform reflects the UAE’s commitment to further developing an advanced tourism sector and strengthening the country’s position as a global destination that helps shape the future of tourism,” Bin Touq said.

“Through ‘Visit UAE’, we are unifying the UAE’s national tourism offering and showcasing the diversity of destinations and experiences across the seven emirates, while the ‘UAE Grand Tour’ platform represents an integrated tourism product that encourages visitors to choose from a range of itineraries to explore more than one emirate and extend their stay,” he added.

The announcements were made during Arabian Travel Market 2026, held at Dubai World Trade Centre from September 14 to 17.

Bin Touq said the UAE was also continuing to strengthen its position in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions sector, supported by infrastructure and an integrated network of facilities and services.

Visit UAE identity, Grant Tour support tour support UAE’s Tourism Strategy 2031

The initiatives form part of the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, which targets increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP to Dhs450bn, attracting Dhs100bn in new tourism investment and reaching 40 million hotel guests annually by the next decade.

The ministry also announced plans to take its World’s Coolest Winter campaign into international markets for the first time.

Launched in 2020, the campaign has so far focused on encouraging residents and visitors already in the UAE to explore destinations across the country during the cooler months.

The international edition will target key overseas markets and promote desert and coastal experiences, adventure activities, festivals, events and city attractions, alongside the UAE’s mild winter climate.

The ministry said the expansion would strengthen links between World’s Coolest Winter, Visit UAE and multi-emirate tourism products such as the UAE Grand Tour, with the aim of attracting more international visitors and encouraging them to stay longer.

Read: Dubai hotel occupancy climbs to 66% in August as tourism picks up

flydubai Holidays has expanded its destination and product portfolio and is preparing to launch an upgraded digital platform as demand for holiday packages continues to grow, the airline said during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2026 in Dubai.

The holidays division now offers packages across more than 100 destinations and 10,000 hotels, with options spanning different budgets and travel preferences.
Destinations include Almaty, Baku, Krabi, the Maldives, Tbilisi, Yerevan and Zanzibar.

flydubai Holidays said its upgraded digital platform would feature improved navigation, clearer content, better mobile responsiveness and a more streamlined booking journey.

Customers will also have access to improved search and filtering tools designed to make it easier to organise and manage holidays according to individual preferences.

Sudhir Sreedharan, DSVP of Commercial Operations at flydubai, said the holidays business continued to grow, supported by the airline’s expanding network and demand for more choice, flexibility and convenience.

He said demand for holiday packages was expected to continue through the upcoming winter season.

Passengers travelling to Dubai can also use flydubai’s stopover offering before continuing to other destinations.

Since March 2026, flydubai Holidays has recorded what the company described as a positive response to its Dubai stopover experience, which provides preferential rates on flights, hotels, attractions, activities and other services.

Nelson D’souza, VP of flydubai Holidays, said the company had seen consistent demand for city breaks and beach holidays, particularly from customers in the UAE, GCC and Central Asia.

He also pointed to growing interest in destinations across Eastern Europe and Asia, as well as fixed-itinerary packages, premium hotels and related services.
Baku, Krabi and Tivat have recorded some of the strongest growth, flydubai said.

The airline extended its seasonal Tivat route until October 23, while Bangkok, which launched with a daily service in July, is scheduled to increase to three daily flights from November 2026.

flydubai Holidays also offers fixed-itinerary packages at selected destinations, combining flights, hotel stays and excursions.