Can I leave an airport during long connection period?

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I fly Dublin-India frequently.

Etihad/Qatar etc used to provide great service. They have lost the shine a little bit lately but they are still pretty good, especially compared to alternatives. Airport and facilities you can't do better than Dubai / Abu Dhabi etc. They are really showcasing their wealth there and compared to them Dublin is like public bus station rest room (Dublin is pretty poor compared to most airports anyway, even many Indian airports are way better than Dublin, but that's a different story altogether).

Middle East based airlines will also offer a free stop-over option, for example, (can not post links www etihad com/en-ie/abu-dhabi/stopover), This will cover your accommodation for a night or two, but be aware that there are loads of terms and conditions (ticket has to be more than $1000 etc etc).

I personally found Istanbul airport too busy and chaotic. For some reason, at the departure gate, they had another police / security person patting down everyone, opening and checking the contents of hand luggage, and strangely they asked for a second ID other than passport (luckily I had a driving license with me). I would also always try and avoid Heathrow as well.
 
To be honest, once you reach the UAE, it is only about another 4 hours or so to India so I would soldier on with a short transfer. I myself, am happy with a couple of hours in the middle east before getting on the next flight no matter what the length even if going to somewhere like Australia; I just prefer to get the flight done.

The only time I consider a long transfer is where the flights would be much cheaper; for example I saved about €300 by taking an 8 hour transfer in Doha once instead of 2 hours and I took a tour from the airport which was great, got to see a bit of Qatar.
 
clinteastwood said:
Chose Turkish…as did not wish to support countries which treat women as furniture…3rdly Turkish airlines have beautiful stewardess as well.
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This is a joke, right?

Turkey wasn’t exactly utopia for women and women’s rights, and it’s deteriorated since Erdogan took office.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
This is a joke, right?

Turkey wasn’t exactly utopia for women and women’s rights, and it’s deteriorated since Erdogan took office.
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UAE etc are built on slavery and oppression, utterly appalling places. They are way worse than Apartheid era South Africa. I would never go there or support their economies. People who go there to work are worse than those who supported Apartheid. They are supporting and financially benefitting from slavery and the oppression of women.
 
Apartheid was far worse.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Apartheid was far worse.
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Really? Are you sure?

Have you read any of the reports about how women and minorities and their slaves, sorry, those there under the kafala system are treated?
Or what about the actual slaves? The population of UAE is 10 million but they have an additional 8 million migrants who have no real rights.

You think Apartheid was far worse?
 
Spare us the hyperbole. Employee rights mightn’t be at Irish levels in the UAE but talk of slavery and comparisons with Apartheid are frankly ridiculous.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Spare us the hyperbole. Employee rights mightn’t be at Irish levels in the UAE but talk of slavery and comparisons with Apartheid are frankly ridiculous.
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It's not hyperbole, it's hard fact. You mightn't like that but that doesn't change the reality.
Anyone who lived there and avails of their tax free status should realise that they can do so only because it's a slave economy. All those teachers and nurses and engineers and everyone else is participating in, profiting from and enabling slavery. If they are comfortable doing so that's fine but they should know what that makes them and that they have no business lecturing anyone else about moral standards or right and wrong. Ever.
 
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Gordon Gekko said:
Employee rights mightn’t be at Irish levels in the UAE but talk of slavery and comparisons with Apartheid are frankly ridiculous.
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I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable on the matter but the Truth Commission in SA reported 21,00 deaths between 1948 and 1994. Estimates out the death toll of foreign migrant workers around 10,000 per annum in UAE!
 
Leo said:
I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable on the matter but the Truth Commission in SA reported 21,00 deaths between 1948 and 1994. Estimates out the death toll of foreign migrant workers around 10,000 per annum in UAE!
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I really don’t think that’s a valid comparison. 21,000 citizens effectively murdered by an oppressive government vs 10,000 workers dying per year in health and safety incidents.

And that 10,000 stat isn’t just the UAE, it’s in all of the Gulf Co-Op States combined, so the UAE, Saudi, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.

“Health and safety isn’t great on building sites” is hardly comparable with Apartheid.
 
Poor health and safety standards on building sites being equated with Apartheid. Talk about jumping the shark.
 
"
....do not wish to support countries which treat women as furniture.
....Turkish airlines have beautiful stewardess as well
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Amused at the debate on the relativism of various human rights abuses.

While the objectification of women slides on by.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I really don’t think that’s a valid comparison. 21,000 citizens effectively murdered by an oppressive government vs 10,000 workers dying per year in health and safety incidents.
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In fairness, even if all 10,000 deaths were attributable to H&S, it points to a failure of government and the value it places on human life.

Just because they didn’t kill them directly doesn’t mean they’re not culpable. They could do a lot more to reduce these deaths if they had any interest in doing so but they simply don’t care.
 
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