You and your luggage would no longer have to sprawl all over the airport floor, on those long, unending layovers, if you happen to be at Abu Dhabi Airport at least. The airport has installed, what are referred to as ‘sleeping pods’ in two of its terminals, where bleary-eyed travellers and lie back and snooze in peace. Shielding you from noisy, crying children and glances of every passenger who happens to walk by, these pods are essentially ultra-modern chairs that convert into flat beds and feature a sliding roof designed to partially or fully enclose the traveler within the pod.

Dubbed “GoSleep”, eight of these pods have been set up at Terminal 3 while two more are up at the Al Dhabi Lounge in Terminal 1, with 35 more proposed to be installed in the coming months. As they’re in the pilot phase, there is currently no price tag on the use of the pods but eventually the airport plans to charge passengers 45 dirham for every hour. Also, after the launch phase the chairs will be upgraded to feature Internet access, charging points and allow for storage of luggage.

Abu Dhabi International Airport, which was declared the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ by Airport Council International (ACI) last month, claims to be first airport in the world to install such sleeping pods. The Chief Commercial Officer of ADAC, Mohammed Al Bulooki, said: “Abu Dhabi Airports Company continually strives to enhance the experience of passengers travelling to, from or via Abu Dhabi International Airport. The introduction of ‘GoSleep’ sleeping pods is another step towards exceeding customers’ expectations and delivering world-class levels of service. Abu Dhabi Airports Company is proud that it is the first airport in the world to have secured an agreement to install the very latest passenger experience that embraces the latest technology.”