Abu Dhabi International Airport expects an 18 per cent jump in the number of flights this summer from new routes and increased frequencies.
The airport said there would be 1,242 flights this summer compared with 1,052 the year earlier.
The new routes to Los Angeles, Zurich, Belgrade, Perth, Jaipur and Yerevan in Armenia are part of Etihad Airways' expansion plans.
There will also be more flights to Arabian Gulf countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Flights will increase to Pakistan, especially to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Rahin Yar Khan.
“We remain on track to open the world’s biggest new terminal in 2017 and the growth in the number of flights linking Abu Dhabi to cities all around the world is a trend that Abu Dhabi Airports expects to continue in the years ahead,” said Ahmad Al Haddabi, the chief operations officer.
Helped by Etihad’s growing code-share network, Abu Dhabi Airports on Tuesday reported a 15.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic during the first quarter of this year. Passenger traffic reached 4.5 million during the quarter, compared with 3.9 million a year earlier.
Etihad, which has Abu Dhabi International Airport as its base, has been routing more passengers through the capital as it adds capacity through partnerships with other airlines.
The European aircraft maker Airbus also expects the major connecting hubs of the aviation industry to shift to the Middle East, especially for cities such as Istanbul, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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