Coincidence? Perhaps not. While Wizz Air has just announced the closure of its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways, the official carrier of the United Arab Emiratesrevealed yesterday (15 July) that it would be launching flights to seven new destinations.
For a long time it seemed thatEtihadalways remained in the shadow of the Gulf's two mega-carriers, Emirates and Qatar Airways. But the Abu Dhabi-based carrier has put that impression behind it this year. Since March, Etihad has been constantly announcing the opening of new routes. 27 in total. Probably a record for the entire airline industry this year.
Seven destinations, mainly in Central Asia
Proof of this uninterrupted momentum, Etihad has just unveiled seven new destinations that it plans to launch between November and February next year.
In Central Asia, the company will be Almaty (Kazakhstan); Baku (Azerbaijan); Yerevan (Armenia); Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Tbilisi (Georgia). The company will also launch on Bucharest, Romania and Medina, Saudi Arabia. The latter
Flights should go on sale in the next few days, and services will begin in March 2026. With the exception of Medina, where Etihad will start operating frequencies in November.
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihadexplained: " Our clear objective is to bring more people directly to Abu Dhabi. These new routes will help us to stimulate demand for tourism and trade in the capital of the United Arab Emirates".
" With these seven destinations, Etihad will have announced or commenced operations on 27 new routes in a single year - a remarkable milestone that reflects our ambition and commitment to Abu Dhabi's growth.he added.
New routes announced earlier this year and already open include Prague, Warsaw, Sochi and Atlanta.
Between now and the end of the year, the airline is due to launch 13 new routes. Many of these will be in Asia, such as Chiang Mai and Krabi (Thailand), Hanoi (Vietnam), Hong Kong, Medan (Indonesia), Peshawar (Pakistan), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Taipei.. There are also plans to openAlgiers and Tunis.
Finally, Etihad has announced three seasonal services for the 2026 season: Krakow in Poland, Salalah in Oman, and Kazan in Russia.
