Gate A-side pit stop when you forgot something
WHSmith in Terminal A sits airside, after security, near the main duty free run, so you hit it on the way to most A-gates. It’s the standard UK-style newsagent setup: books, magazines, drinks, snacks, and last-minute travel bits stacked tight into a small footprint.
Hours generally track Terminal A’s flight bank, staying open into the late-night departures to Europe and Asia, though exact closing can float with the schedule. If you’re catching a 02:00–04:00 long-haul, you usually still see lights on and staff restocking the drink fridges.
Pricing runs airport-high: expect 8–10 AED for bottled water, 12–18 AED for soft drinks, and 8–20 AED for candy or chips. Paperbacks and puzzle books jump compared with downtown Abu Dhabi, but still beat some of the fancier souvenir shops nearby on total bill shock.
Stock focus skews toward grab-and-go: basic travel pillows, neck rests, charging cables, and universal adapters sit by the entrance racks. You also get regional snacks and chocolate bars in multi-packs, handy if you skipped duty free but still need something to bring into a meeting or home visit.
Watch out for queues peaking about 45 minutes before waves of A-terminal departures, when two open tills can’t quite handle every passenger chasing water and gum. If your gate is at the far end of Terminal A, buy drinks here once, then skip the smaller kiosks and walk straight to boarding.