Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, says it has made good its promise of growth and greater connectivity by starting flights to three key destinations.

In a press statement, the airline says that the inaugural services to Dusseldorf, Germany (DUS) began on September 28, followed the next day by Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) and then Osaka, Japan (KIX) on October 1.

Meanwhile the airline unveiled increased frequencies to popular destinations Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL) and Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB).

The flights are part of a package of new routes and increased frequencies designed to meet customer demand for more opportunities to visit Abu Dhabi and provide even more connectivity to Etihad’s growing global network.

Antonoaldo Neves

“The new flights are the next important steps as we enhance our network delivering greater connectivity for our guests,and serving their demand for more opportunities to visit Abu Dhabi,” says Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways.

“We are helping accelerate economic growth for the city by providing more travel options and seamless connections, ensuring it’s easier for guests to visit Abu Dhabi either as a destination, or as part of a stopover as they explore our growing global network,” adds Neves.

Etihad has already announced the launch of nine new destinations this year, including Malaga, Mykonos, Lisbon, Kolkata, St Petersburg, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen, Osaka, and Boston. In addition, the airline recently announced new routes to the Indian Subcontinent, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, to be launched in January 2024.

To complement these developments, Etihad has made several recent network changes and frequency adds to enhance travel options and connectivity. It has improved departure times for enhanced passenger convenience with adjusted departure times for European and Asian destinations.

The airline says increased regularity to Chennai (MAA), Colombo (CMB) Islamabad (ISB), Kochi (COK), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Madrid (MAD), Milan (MXP), Munich (MUC), Rome (FCO), and Phuket (HKT) offer travellers more choice while improving travel options and connectivity.

The airline says that an additional 5 flights per week to make triple daily operations to Cairo, effective from 1 Jan, strengthening the link between Abu Dhabi and the Egyptian capital and seven direct flights per week with three flights effective from December 1 and four flights effective from January 1, increasing to 10 per week from May 2024, further enhancing travel options to this destination. The airline adds that it will double daily from January 15, 2024. An additional seven flights per week, with three flights effective from December 1 and four flights effective from January 1, 2024.