Etihad Airways is to open a 3X-weekly Abu Dhabi (AUH)-Johannesburg (JNB)-Cape Town (CPT) route from Nov. 25, operating the service using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The airline served Johannesburg regularly prior to the COVID-19 outbreak but Cape Town is a new addition. From Nov. 26, Etihad will also begin serving Zanzibar (ZNZ) three times per week onboard Airbus A320s. “We’re proud to be launching Etihad’s newest destinations in Africa this winter and we’re confident our guests will find they are all incredible places to visit,” Etihad CEO Tony Douglas said.

From Nov. 7, Eurowings will be launching a new service between Hamburg (HAM) and Beirut (BEY), the capital of Lebanon. Flights will initially be once a week on Sundays using A320s. From Dec. 17, the LCC plans to expand the number of weekly frequencies with the addition of a Friday service. Eurowings has been flying from Berlin and Düsseldorf to Beirut since December 2020, mainly targeting VFR traffic.

Brussels Airlines is planning to fly to 61 destinations during the upcoming winter season. With the addition of Lanzarote (ACE) from Oct. 31, the carrier will strengthen its presence in the Canary Islands, where it will also fly to Tenerife and Gran Canaria this winter. Kyiv (KBP) will rejoin the airline’s network as of Dec. 16, while flights to summer season destination Yerevan (EVN) will continue to operate this winter. Other additions include the resumption of flights to Hurghada (HRG) in Egypt and the addition of Marrakesh (RAK) in Morocco.

Milan Bergamo (BGY) has confirmed the addition of two new airline partners who will join the airport during the winter season. Norwegian startup Flyr will commence a 2X-weekly service from its base at Oslo (OSL) from Jan. 5, 2022. The nonstop link will mean the Italian airport will offer a total of 756 weekly seats to Norway during the winter season. Spanish LCC Vueling will also begin 3X-weekly connections from Paris Orly (ORY) from Nov. 2. Paris Orly becomes Bergamo’s seventh French destination, joining Bordeaux, Marseille, Paris Beauvais, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Tarbes-Lourdes and Toulouse.

TAR Aerolíneas is opening two new Mexican domestic routes to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) from Oct. 19. Flights from Hermosillo (HMO) and La Paz (LAP) will each be offered 3X-weekly. The additions increase the carrier’s network to six destinations from Puerto Vallarta.

Dubai International (DXB) has become the first intercontinental destination for Uganda Airlines. The carrier began service from Entebbe (EBB) on Oct. 4, flying three times per week using A330-800neo aircraft. The route recorded more than 300,000 passengers in 2019. Emirates also serves DXB-EBB 5X-weekly using Boeing 777-300ERs, while flydubai offers daily 737-800 flights.

Photo credit: Joe Pries