Etihad Sets Tripoli Launch Date

Posted 01/12/2011

Etihad Airways has confirmed it will inaugurate flights between Abu Dhabi and the Libyan capital Tripoli on January 17, 2012.  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) operator will offer three return flights per week using a two-class, 162-seat Airbus A320, its fifth destination in North Africa. 

The airline’s Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, had confirmed in October that the airline was planning to fly to Libya “as soon as the NATO no-fly zone is lifted, the airport is declared safe and all appropriate infra-structure is in place we will be able to begin services”.  At this time the airline had suggested it would use a 262-seat A330-200 on the route, but has obviously readjusted its operational plan.

Etihad Airways has developed a schedule on the route that, it says, will allow maximum connectivity over Abu Dhabi for flights from North and South Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, as well as serving strong point to point traffic.  The flights will initially operate via Alexandria in Egypt, but will move to a non-stop basis once infrastructure is developed in the Libyan capital.

"We are delighted to be able to launch these flights do all we can to help the country get back on its feet at this critical point in Libya's history," said James Hogan.  The new services will further strengthen links between Libya and the UAE as the Gulf nation was among the first to recognise the new government of the country and provide political, military and humanitarian support.

---

With effect from March 19, 2012 the Breaking News coverage on Routesonline is powered by Airline Route.  For more analysis on these stories please read our expanded coverage of the key stories of the day in The HUB. 

You can also keep up to date with the latest network development news by following the live updates from @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @RouteExchange and @airlineroute on Twitter.  While all the latest news from our events can be seen by searching the #RoutesAfrica, #RoutesAmericas, #RoutesAsia, #RoutesCIS, #RoutesEurope and #WorldRoutes hashtags.

All material is copyright of UBM Aviation Routes but the views expressed are not necessarily the views of UBM Aviation Routes and the company shall therefore not be liable for the contents of any article that appears on the site.  Although the best efforts have been taken in collecting and checking the material we can not and do not warrant that the information contained in this product is complete or accurate and does not assume and hereby disclaims liability to any person for any loss of damage caused by errors or omissions.

PLEASE NOTE: From March 7, 2012 schedule data for all news stories has been extracted from OAG Schedules iNET; All GDS data is based on a live GDS update on the day of publication; Traffic data extracted from IATA BSP system for the year ending December 2011.  All information is subject to change.