In celebration of its 30th Anniversary on the 4th January, Abu Dhabi International Airport has drawn the millionaire ticket for the Big Ticket draw organized by DFS, the major concessionaire of Abu Dhabi Duty Free. The first prize was extended this round to mark this unique day to include one kilo of gold, a Porsche Cayman car along with the one Million Dirhams cash prize.

Fourteen other winners were granted cash prizes worth a total of AED 500,000. The Big Ticket Draw has been taking place at Abu Dhabi Duty Free since 1992 and has been organized by DFS since 2008. Tickets are sold to passengers, airport visitors and public across different sales points, as well as via online websites.

The lucky winner of the grand prize, Mr. Noushad E. Thayil, an Indian National residing in Abu Dhabi, said: “This is a great surprise for me and my family, and I thank god for this opportunity. I shared the cost of the ticket with five close friends, and the prize will be very useful for all of us, especially to me as my wife just gave birth to a baby girl!”

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Abu Dhabi International Airport on its 30th anniversary and look forward to seeing more promotions in the near future.”

The draw was attended by Mr. Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, Chief Financial Officer of ADAC, and Mr. Glen Morgan, Vice President Retail Operations of DFS – Abu Dhabi in celebration of Abu Dhabi international Airport 30th anniversary, along with members of ADAC and DFS.

On this occasion, Al Khoori said: “Abu Dhabi Airports Company is proud to be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Abu Dhabi International Airport with its numerous achievements and accolades. ADAC with its partnership with DFS will continue to design creative promotions and offerings to travelers that would ensure that Abu Dhabi Duty Free will deliver, and exceed, their expectations.”

As a response to the overall popularity of the recent draw, ADAC and DFS will offer the same grand prize in the following round of the Big Ticket draw. Commenting on this, Glen Morgan, Vice President Retail Operations of DFS – Abu Dhabi, said: “The Big Ticket draw is a key component of the collaboration between DFS and ADAC, and we are proud to have it offered to residents of the UAE and passengers of Abu Dhabi International Airport.”

“Its long standing first prize of AED 1,000,000 has earned it a wide audience, and has been extended to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Abu Dhabi International Airport with additional prizes to be worth a total of 1.5 million AED, all as the grand prize to one winner,” he added.

Along with the Big Ticket draw, ADAC and DFS Abu Dhabi have put together a raffle draw program throughout 2012 that will benefit different charitable organizations locally and internationally. Currently ongoing is the draw supporting the “Hand in Hand for Haiti” initiative, which will be carried out through the first quarter of 2012.