Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline will resume connecting flights through their respective bases in Abu Dhabi and Dubai starting in mid-June after the UAE government late on Wednesday lifted flight restrictions applying to that country’s airlines. The relaxation of the restrictions—spurred by the global Covid-19 pandemic—do not apply to foreign carriers, and the ban on any non-UAE nationals from entering the country remains in effect.
Etihad said it would link 20 cities in Europe, Asia, and Australia via Abu Dhabi starting June 10, thereby allowing passengers traveling on the airline’s current network of special flights to connect through Abu Dhabi to “key” global destinations.
Etihad recently launched links from Melbourne and Sydney to London Heathrow, allowing direct transfer connections to and from the UK capital via Abu Dhabi.
Etihad said it would continue to operate a network of special flights from Abu Dhabi to previously announced destinations across its international network, including Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo to major cities across Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Zurich.
For its part, Emirates said it would start passenger services to 16 more cities on its Boeing 777-300ERs on June 15, including Bahrain, Manchester, Zurich, Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, New York JFK, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Taipei, Hong Kong, Perth, and Brisbane. Separately, the airline plans to offer flights from Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad on June 8 for travelers from Pakistan wanting to connect to other Emirates destinations.
With the latest additions, Emirates will fly passengers on 777-300ERs now dedicated to flying scheduled cargo operations from Dubai to 29 cities, including existing flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, and Manila (from June 11).