What to do if you Encounter Flight Cancellations or Delays

While our hope is that you arrive at your study away destination without any challenges, we know at times these can occur for a variety of reasons.  Please note that NYU is unable to act as an intermediary between the traveler and airline, but it may be helpful to keep in mind the below tips should you encounter any flight cancellations or delays:

Contact Your Airline First

Number one tip: Whether it’s an airport delay or flight cancellation, contact your airline – immediately.  It is most beneficial to act quickly so that you are able to grab a seat on the next available flight if necessary.  Many passengers will be trying to rebook and options may become more limited the longer you wait.

If Your Flight is Canceled:

• Multi-task communications: If your flight is canceled or delayed, immediately get in line for a gate agent; at the same time, call the airline (it may be quicker).
• If you have a frequent flyer status with the airline that gives you access to a priority phone number, using this may expedite the service you receive.

Note: There are no federal requirements that require airlines to provide you with any hotel or meal vouchers due to events outside their control such as weather, but airline policies on this vary. When in doubt, ask. Some will provide you with certain amenities.

If Your Flight is Delayed:

• Stay in touch with the airline: Follow the tips above; stay connected to your carrier
• Don’t be late to the gate: Even if you’ve been told your flight is delayed, stay in the gate area. Delays can evaporate and windows of opportunity for take-off can be short; if you’re not present for boarding, you may be out of luck

Note: Always be at the gate at least 20 minutes before departure, minimum.

Ultimately, if you are in an area where you still have access to email or phone service, please contact the appropriate staff member(s) at NYU Abu Dhabi listed at the bottom of our “Arrival and Visa Information” blog post to inform them of your updated itinerary.  This is another reason why it is important to have a copy in your carry on.  

The staff recognize these occurrences are beyond your control so will work with you to catch up if any material is missed.  On behalf of the entire NYU Global Programs team, we wish you safe travels!

Global Safety Tips

Keeping you safe — and ensuring your ability to make academic progress — are top priorities for NYU. As you prepare to spend the semester away from your home campus, we wanted to share with you some tips and best practices that will help to do so.

The University continuously monitors events in cities and countries around the globe, and adjusts security precautions, as necessary, based on the local environment. Should an urgent situation arise, the University maintains an emergency notification system, which delivers alerts via text message and email.

• Register your travel with your respective embassy or consulate – both while you are at your study away location, and anywhere else your travel plans may take you.
• Make sure to have a mobile phone with you whenever you’re away from the site – and be sure to keep it charged!
• If you are planning on traveling away from your site – even if only for a night — please be sure to register your trip in NYU Traveler, and let a member of your local site staff know.
• Please be sure that your site staff has a local contact phone number for you.
• Do your homework before you travel away from your site. Check for potential travel warnings for cities and countries to which you are thinking about traveling (the US State Department website is a good place to start.
• Always be fully aware of your surroundings. Avoid at-risk areas (in many cities, this could include locations that are very popular with tourists). And if during your travels you ever find yourself in a situation in which you feel uncomfortable, trust your instincts and leave.
• Whenever possible, travel in groups. Whether you’re going out for an evening, or are planning to explore the region (or beyond), go with friends!
• If you don’t know the person entering a building right after you, make sure they have their own ID — don’t allow “piggy-backing” at entrances to NYU academic centers and residence halls.
• If you ever have a question or concern about your safety – either at your site, or while you are traveling – either check with your local site staff, or call the NYU Public Safety Command Center (open 24/7) at +1.212.998.2222.
• Should you ever feel anxious or upset during your time away, or you simply want to have someone to speak to, please call the Wellness Exchange (24/7). You can always reach them at +1.212.443.9999, but many sites also have local numbers, which can be found here.

For more safety tips, visit: http://www.nyu.edu/abu-dhabi/student-life/safety.html

Important Travel Reminders

The time is almost here to leave for the UAE, but before you depart for the airport make sure you have all of your immigration needs taken care of! It is important to keep any immigration related paperwork on your person/in your carry-on luggage and ready for your arrival in the UAE.

Two important reminders for best practices when traveling abroad:

1.     In order to board your international flight you will need your passport.  You should have copies of your passport elsewhere.  OGS recommends keeping a color copy of your passport and visa separately in your carry-on luggage.  You should also have access to a digital encrypted copy of your passport and visa online that can be obtained from any computer.  Additionally, you may want to leave a copy of your passport and visa with a parent or guardian, or whomever you trust and would call in an emergency. If your passport/visa is lost or stolen having a copy of such may help expedite getting a replacement.

2.    After you arrive at your study away site, you should register with your local Embassy or Consulate.  U.S. citizens can register with the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program     which will automatically alert the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate to your presence in country.  Non-U.S. citizens should register with the relevant home country Embassy or Consulate abroad

UAE from A-Z: Zayed, Zamzam Water, Zakat

UAE from A-Z: Yola Dance, Yahsat, Yetha, Yereed

Arrival and Visa Information

We hope you are as excited about your upcoming trip to Abu Dhabi as we are to welcome you to our campus community!

Please find a copy of your final UAE Entry Permit in your NYU inbox.  Please print a COLOR copy of this entry permit and carry it with you along with your ORIGINAL passport when you travel.  You should also carry a print-out of your flight itinerary for easy reference.  

We recommend that you review your airline(s) baggage policy before you pack — contact the airline(s) directly for the most up-to-date information.

Upon arrival at the airport in the UAE, you will be met by a representative of the airport welcoming services called “Golden Class,” who will assist you through the arrival process at the airport.  Please look for their staff member holding a sign with your name on it as soon as you get off the plane.  They should be waiting for you on the jet-bridge or immediately as you enter the airport terminal.  They will escort you through the airport, assist with the immigration process, customs and security screenings, and help you collect your luggage (or help you report lost luggage if need be.)

Here is how the next steps in the visa process will work:

• NYUAD will notify the UAE authorities of your pending entry into the country.
• You will enter the UAE with the COLOR copy of your entry permit.  When the immigration process at the airport is complete, the entry permit will be stamped.  Please keep this document safe together with your original passport — you’ll need to bring these documents to orientation. IMPORTANT NOTE: At this point, you must remain in the UAE until the completion of the visa process (approx. six weeks). Of course, you will be here for the entire semester, so this should not be a problem.

Please do NOT make travel plans until your UAE residence visa has been granted.  YOU CANNOT LEAVE THE COUNTRY BEFORE THE FINAL VISA HAS BEEN PROCESSED AND STAMPED IN YOUR PASSPORT.  

• On Wednesday, January 25, you will go for a medical test, including a blood test and a chest X-ray.  This test is required for the visa process and is administered by the UAE government.
• After receiving the medical test results, the government will grant the Student Residence Visas.  NYUAD representatives will take the students’ original passports to the government agency, have the Student Residence Visas stamped into the passports, and return the passports to the students.  Later on in the semester, you will also receive an Emirates ID Card issued by the UAE government.

Check-In at Saadiyat Campus

All airport shuttles on January 20 will drop students off at the main drop-off point for our campus — and you will be directed to the Welcome Center in the Campus Center building.  A staff member from the housing team will help you check in and take you to your room.

Mandatory Orientation on Site

The orientation program will begin on Saturday, January 21, at 11:30 AM in the Campus Center West Forum.  Please meet us by the palm trees at the center of campus at 11:15 AM. We will take you to the room where orientation will be held.  Please be on time! 

If you experience any difficulties during your travels to Abu Dhabi that you think you should report to us, please contact Letecia Saunders by email (Ls4201@nyu.edu) or on her mobile number +971 50 326 9751 or Denver Mazumdar by email (dm2661@nyu.edu) or on his mobile +971 56 743 3560.

Submit Travel Itinerary ASAP!

In order to arrange your airport pick-up, you must send your travel itinerary ASAP to NYUAD.StudentTravel@nyu.edu.  This is critical so local staff are aware of when you intend to arrive. They cannot schedule your airport pick-up without this information. 

In addition, please also submit this information into NYU Traveler, which goes directly to NYU Public Safety.  It should only take you a few minutes and you can get started by taking the following steps:

• Go to http://www.nyu.edu/nyutraveler
• Click on Register
• Click on New
• Follow the prompts to enter your travel information.

If you have questions about filling out this form, please refer to this step-by-step guide or the tutorial video.  Should any technical problems present themselves while entering your information into NYU Traveler, you may contact traveler.support@nyu.edu for assistance.

Entry Information

By now you should have received your final entry permit and travel instructions for your arrival to Abu Dhabi.  Please check to make sure you received this email from the Office of Global Education at NYU Abu Dhabi.

You can also read about the visa process on pages 25-26 of the Study Abroad in Abu Dhabi Handbook.

Feel free to reach out to the Office of Global Education at nyuad.globaleducation@nyu.edu if you have any questions.

Library and Writing Resources Available While Studying Away

As you prepare to study away next semester, please know that there are a variety of library and writing resources available throughout the Global Network to ensure your continued academic success.

NYUAD Library
The NYUAD library is located on the third floor of the Campus Center (C2) building. The library has rich print and e-resources. Students are able to acquire books from the NYU New York collection through an online request­ system. The Digital Studio, located in the NYUAD Library, offers a collection of information technology services to students working on a wide range of projects. Students can visit the Digital Studio to use digital media equipment, receive assistance, and gain access to various supported technologies. Students can also check out a range of electronic equipment through the Service Desk within the Digital Studio.

NYUAD Writing Center
Located in the Library, the Writing Center is the place writers go for one-on-one consultations with NYUAD’s team of Writing Instructors.  Writing consultants are experienced readers and writers who work with students in dedicated writing conferences, helping to develop strategies for revision of assignments or papers, teaching specific writing skills, or facilitating a deeper understanding about the student’s own writing process. Students from any field or discipline are welcomed. Visit  the Writing Center or make an appointment online here.

Online Resources
Students and faculty at NYU Global sites have access to an extensive range of online full-text collections including books, journals, audio, video and images, and a variety of library services including email reference through NYU Libraries’ website.  Become acquainted with the library services here.

Additionally, NYU’s Expository Writing Program in the College of Arts and Sciences has launched two new writing services that students can take advantage of:

• Online Tutoring for Global Sites.  The NYU Writing Center now offers a space where any student in NYU’s Global Network can get help with his or her writing.  Via Google’s video chat and document sharing functions, consultants and students work one-on-one, focusing on every stage of the writing process and on any piece of writing (with the exception of exams).  Upon arrival, interested students can sign up online for remote tutoring time slots.  The sign-up link will be shared by Academic staff in Florence.
• Resources for Writing is a series of Writing Guides that focus on the most essential and often challenging rhetorical moves in academic prose. Designed as mini-lessons, they take students through a step-by-step process that offers examples, explanations, and practice.  These sources are now available here.

IT at NYU AD

Student Portal
The NYUAD Student Portal is home to useful information and important communications that you will want throughout your semester in Abu Dhabi. Important announcements and updates are posted to the Student Portal, so be sure to visit regularly and to check your NYU email.  The Portal also includes tips about living in Abu Dhabi as well as more specific information about personal computers, banking (there is an ATM located on campus), and mobile phones. To access the Student Portal, you will need to log in here using your NYU NetID. If you have any trouble accessing the Student Portal, please email the NYUAD IT Team.

Please note that some announcements and policies posted on the student portal will only apply to NYU Abu Dhabi students. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Global Education.

Student Profile
The first time you log on to the Student Portal, you will be prompted to complete your Student Profile, which will provide us with all of your essential information in one place (home address, emergency contact information, etc.). We urge you to keep your profile up to date, which you can do at any time by returning to the student portal.

Connecting to WiFi on campus once you arrive
Instructions for connecting to the campus WiFi are available on the Student Portal.  Please click here for more information.

Printing
NYU Abu Dhabi has campus wide printing available using a system called Pharos.  You will need to use your NYU ID Card as a means of authentication in order to print. More information can be found here.