Thursday is the last full working day of the week in the Emirates, and it carries the weight that comes with that. Anything due before the weekend is due today, because Friday is a short day for federal offices and for a great many private employers, and by Friday afternoon the country has effectively stopped.
That makes Thursday the busiest day of the week at service counters, in courier depots and in the outbound freight terminals. It is also the point at which the weekend traffic begins: the roads towards Hatta, Al Ain, Fujairah and the Oman border start filling in the late afternoon, and the airport handles a leisure-travel peak on Thursday evening that does not exist on any other weekday.
Socially it has taken over the role that Wednesday evening plays in Europe — the first evening of the week when a late night is affordable. Restaurants and the entertainment districts are busy from about eight, and the roads reflect it until well after midnight.
Schools feel it too: Thursday is the day the week's work is handed in, the sports fixtures are played, and the bags come home heavier than they went out. The countdown to Thursday is set by people who need something finished, more often than by people looking forward to the evening.
The countdown always aims at the next Thursday, resetting each week once the day begins.
Common questions
Is Thursday the last working day here?
It is the last full one. Friday is still a working day but a short one for federal offices and many private employers.
Why does the traffic build on a Thursday afternoon?
Because the weekend travel starts then — the roads towards Hatta, Al Ain, Fujairah and the Oman border fill from late afternoon, and the airport sees a leisure peak in the evening.
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