Etihad re-opens global network

Etihad has announced plans to operate 58 destinations from Abu Dhabi International (AUH) this summer following the relaxation of travel restrictions in the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf carrier aims to “gradually” resume services across its global network, with the goal of operating 45% of its pre-COVID capacity by August 2020.

The network rebuild will be supported by the new the Etihad Wellness sanitization and safety program, which includes “wellness ambassadors” trained to provide information to passengers, which the airline claims is an industry first.

Etihad’s top ten destinations by departure seats in 2019 (excluding AUH)

1 LHR 643,764

2 BKK 392,968

3 CDG 356,278

4 JED 345,405

5 SYD 336,444

6 DEL 314,953

7 BOM 313,788

8 CAI 303,070

9 MNL 300,160

10 MUC 289,573

Etihad Aviation Group‘s group CEO Tony Douglas called the relaxation of restrictions an “important first step and a great development for Abu Dhabi.”

“While we have continued to operate a schedule of special passenger, cargo and humanitarian flights over the last few months, the priority is now to build the network back up on markets that have opened up, and to provide a secure and hygienic flying environment across the entire guest journey.

“Over the last few months, we have seized every opportunity to improve our processes, review our product offering, and to undertake the biggest fleet maintenance program in our history.”

Etihad’s resumed services include:

North America: Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), Toronto (YYR), Washington (IAD)

Europe: Amsterdam (AMS), Athens (ATH), Barcelona (BCN), Belgrade (BEG), Brussels (BRU), Dublin (DUB), Dusseldorf (DUS), Frankfurt (FRA), Geneva (GVA), Istanbul (IST), London Heathrow (LHR), Madrid (MAD), Manchester (MAN), Milan (MXP), Moscow (SVO), Munich (MUC), Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Rome (FCO), Zurich (ZRH)

Middle East & Africa: Amman (AMM), Bahrain (BAH), Beirut (BEY), Cairo (CAI), Casablanca (CAS), Kuwait (KWI), Muscat (MCT), Rabat (RBA), Riyadh (RUH), Seychelles (SEZ)

Asia: Ahmedabad (AMD), Baku (BAK), Bangkok (BKK), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Colombo (CMB), Delhi (DEL), Hyderabad (HYD), Islamabad (ISB), Jakarta (JKT), Karachi (KHI), Kochi (COK), Kolkata (CCU), Kozhikode (CCJ), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Lahore (LHE), Male (MLE), Manila (MNL), Mumbai (BOM), Seoul (ICN), Singapore (SIN), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV), Tokyo (NRT)

Australasia: Melbourne (MEL), Sydney (SYD)

Photo credit: Nigel Howarth / Aviation Week

Wesley Charnock

Wesley Charnock is Content Marketing Director for Aviation Week Network.