After a few hours in Etihad’s relaxing First Class lounge, I embarked on the home stretch of my trip. Since Abu Dhabi airport includes a CBP Pre-Clearance facility, that meant heading there before boarding my next flight. The trip over to Terminal 3 also meant one more lounge to visit, the Etihad Pre-Clearance Lounge Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, as nice as the Etihad First Lounge is, the Pre-Clearance Lounge is pretty terrible.
Note to readers: AUH relocated the US Pre-Clearance facility from Terminal 3 to Terminal A in late 2024. In early 2025, Etihad opened a new, vastly improved Pre-Clearance Lounge at the facility. However, I decided to go ahead and write this piece so you could experience this trip exactly as I did.
This is part of my trip report series covering my around-the-world trip to Taiwan in January, 2024. Click here for the trip report index and introductory post.
Etihad Pre-Clearance Lounge Abu Dhabi
Location
In Terminal 3, immediately after the US Pre-Clearance Facility, near gates A59-A62. Note that ONLY passengers flying on US-bound flights using Pre-Clearance can access this lounge. Though trust me, you really don’t want to use this lounge unless you have to.
Access
Etihad First and Business Class passengers, as well as Etihad Guest Platinum members, receive complimentary access to the lounge. Passengers not eligible for complimentary access can purchase access to the Etihad Pre-Clearance Lounge on a space-available basis. Etihad makes it difficult to search for pricing, but I believe it ranges from $160-215. If eligible for purchased access, you can add it in the manage booking section of the website.
Etihad Pre-Clearance Lounge Abu Dhabi – Review
First, I’ll provide a primer on how to reach the (old) Pre-Clearance facility. With the facility in an entirely separate terminal, it requires a shuttle bus ride from Terminal A. To reach the shuttle bus, follow the signs to the “F” gate. You can start boarding the shuttle bus roughly 2 1/2 hours prior to departure. The Pre-Clearance facility closes one hour prior to departure, so don’t dawdle in Terminal A too long. While I’m not a big fan of airport shuttle buses, I do enjoy the occasional planeporn. In this case, an Etihad 787, just like the one taking me to Washington later.
Compared to the ritzy Terminal A, walking through Terminal 3 is like going back in time 15 years. It’s also somewhat eerie walking through a fully-functional terminal that’s essentially mothballed. I’m curious to see what happens with AUH’s former Terminals 1, 2, and 3. Terminal 3 in particular only opened in 2009; seems like a waste to mothball it so soon.
Anyway, once you arrive at the Pre-Clearance Lounge, prepare to be underwhelmed. While there aren’t a ton of Pre-Clearance flights, Etihad still managed to provide an undersized lounge for premium passengers. It was very crowded, with flights to both Washington and New York leaving at the time. And even worse, it’s downright dungeon-like with no windows or natural light. The main seating area consists of a handful of neon-colored sofas and chairs. At least I managed to find a seat next to a plug.
I took these three pictures after boarding started for the New York flight, so the crowding doesn’t look as bad.
At one end of the main seating area are a few dining tables.
There are also a handful of barstools, both along the bar itself, and on the opposite side. Speaking of the bar, there is an OK selection of liquor and wine, served by an attendant.
As far as food goes, it’s pretty slim pickins in that department, too. Your choice consists of dumplings, some packaged snacks, and assorted yogurt. Drinks include sodas, bottled water, juice, and coffee. But hey, at least you can pour your coffee from a pretty looking pot!
The WiFi worked reasonably well, so there’s that, at least.
Overall Thoughts
Yeah…this is one sucky lounge. It’s reminiscent of the “International Club Lounge” in Tampa, another awful dungeon of a facility. I mean, you can get a free drink, I guess, but I see no compelling reason to visit this lounge rather than wait at the gate. There is some great news for those of you flying an Etihad Pre-Clearance flight, though. This lounge no longer exists, and Etihad opened a new Pre-Clearance Lounge in Terminal A. With Etiihad permanently out of DFW, who knows when I’ll have the chance to check it out. But it has to be an improvement over this lounge that it replaced.
And at long last, this wraps up my round-the-world trip report series. I’ll kick off my next one next week.