Today's Edition
ISIDORA CIRIC (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi’s aviation sector is in the middle of a sustained upswing, with traffic rising, routes multiplying, and airport infrastructure that’s not just growing, but doing so with direction. From fresh partnerships and expanded carrier networks to airport accolades and record-breaking traffic, the UAE capital is deepening its global footprint, steadily building a case for itself as one of the most connected and efficient travel gateways worldwide.
Etihad Leads Route Expansion Charge
Etihad Airways has kept its momentum up through 2025, pushing forward with a bold expansion strategy that reflects both demand and ambition. The airline unveiled seven new destinations in July - Almaty, Baku, Bucharest, Medina, Tbilisi, Tashkent and Yerevan - adding to a year in which it has already announced or launched 27 new routes. Services to Medina begin in November, with the rest coming online from March 2026.
“Our goal is clear. We want to bring more people directly to Abu Dhabi,” said Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves. The airline, he added, wants to reduce reliance on traditional regional transfer points and bring more point-to-point traffic through the emirate.
“These new routes connect us to fast-growing, culturally rich regions and will help stimulate demand for tourism and trade in the UAE's capital.”
This approach is not limited to primary city pairs. Seasonal routes are also back in focus, with Krakow, Salalah and Kazan lined up for next year. Four new services - Prague, Warsaw, Sochi and Atlanta - have already taken off in 2025, with another 13 routes set to launch before the year closes.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, the capital’s low-cost carrier, is also stepping up to capture the demand in high-growth secondary markets. In June, it announced another expansion, this time featuring routes to Almaty, Yerevan, and Sialkot.
Passenger Traffic Shows Sustained Growth
These bold moves are translating into strong load factors and record traffic. Etihad flew 1.8 million passengers in June 2025, up 16% from the same period last year, according to its traffic statistics released on Monday.
The airline has now carried over 10.2 million passengers in the first half of the year - up 17% from last year - with a rolling 12-month figure approaching 20 million. With 101 aircraft in active use, Etihad Airways’ passenger load factor now stands at 88%.
At the airport level, Abu Dhabi handled 29.4 million passengers in 2024 across its five airports - a 28% jump from 2023. Zayed International Airport accounted for the lion’s share, with 28.8 million passengers and 29 new routes launched that year alone.
This year, the airport’s capacity is being put to the test and proving up to the task. With its sleek, X-shaped Terminal A operational since late 2023, the airport can now process 45 million passengers annually (11,000 passengers per hour) and handle 79 aircraft at once. It’s already home to more than 30 airlines and a network spanning over 120 destinations.
The airport also added eight airlines last year, including British Airways, Air Astana, Aegean Airlines, US Bangla Airlines, Akasa Air, Hainan Airlines, Flynas and Turkmenistan Airlines.
This growth is mirrored in the performance of Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector. The emirate attracted 1.4 million overnight guests in the first quarter of 2025, with strong showings from India, China, Russia, the UK and the US. Hotel revenue hit Dh2.3 billion in the quarter, marking an 18% rise from last year, while RevPAR grew 25% year-on-year to Dh484.
Occupancy remained at 79% across the quarter, even during Ramadan, and the emirate remains on track to meet its annual target of contributing Dh62 billion to the UAE’s tourism GDP in 2025. That figure is expected to rise to Dh90 billion by 2030, under Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Strategy 2030, which also aims to increase hotel capacity to 50,000 rooms and attract nearly 40 million visitors a year.
Codeshares, Partnerships Broaden Access
Etihad is complementing its organic expansion with a growing web of partnerships. The UAE’s national carrier on Tuesday announced a codesharing agreement with Greece’s SKY Express, opening up access to 24 Greek islands and three Eastern Mediterranean cities beyond Athens.
For travellers, it means easier bookings and more destinations from a single ticket, while Abu Dhabi becomes a logical access point to both Gulf and European beach circuits.
Under the codeshare agreement, Etihad will place its code on SKY express-operated flights beyond Athens, providing seamless access to Greece's most popular island destinations, including Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini, and Kos, alongside sought-after destinations such as Corfu, Paros, and Thessaloniki.
In April, Zayed International Airport welcomed the inaugural flight from Shanghai under a joint venture between China Eastern Airlines and Etihad. Operating four times a week, the service marks a strategic step under the shared Belt and Road Initiative.
In June, Etihad signed another strategic codeshare agreement - this time with Taipei-based STARLUX Airlines. From September, it will launch daily flights to Taipei, offering new access to Northeast Asia and enhancing Abu Dhabi’s East-West credentials.
That same month, Abu Dhabi became the launchpad for Air Europa’s first-ever operation from the Middle East, with the Spanish airline wet-leasing aircraft to serve Madrid on behalf of Etihad. The tie-up also builds on their expanded codeshare, providing access to over 130 destinations across both networks.
Commenting on the historic milestone, Juan José Hidalgo, Air Europa's President, described Abu Dhabi as a “world-class destination” and an “ideal platform” for the carrier to expand into new markets.
Regional connectivity is also expanding, now boasting a growing number of point-to-point links between Gulf cities. In April, budget carrier flynas launched direct flights between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, operating three times a week — Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline, also increased its presence in May 2025, adding new direct connections to Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam. With the additions of these flights, IndiGo now operates over 100 weekly flights to Abu Dhabi from 15 cities in India.
Zayed International Airport Earns Global Recognition
The emirate’s main airport isn’t just busy handling passengers, but also taking podiums at international award ceremonies. In March, Zayed International Airport was again named “Best Airport at Arrivals Globally” by Airports Council International’s 2024 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, continuing a three-year streak.
ASQ Awards are the aviation industry's most comprehensive and trusted global benchmark for airport customer experience. Nearly 700,000 passengers rate their impressions of global airports through surveys, representing over half of the world's travellers passing through ASQ-rated airports.
It also won the 2024 Prix Versailles for “World’s Most Beautiful Airport”, in recognition of its state-of-the-art architectural design.
These awards complement the global recognition that AUH has achieved throughout 2024, including being named the fastest-growing airport in the Middle East in terms of international seat capacity. It has also achieved an excellent ACI ASQ satisfaction score that ranks AUH as one of the best airports in the world.
And, its pursuit of excellence and innovation shows no signs of stopping. To date, Zayed International Airport has pioneered nine biometric touchpoints for faster processing and has become one of the largest buildings in the UAE to earn a 3 Pearl Estidama sustainability rating. It also ranked 19th globally in the 2025 AirHelp Score, placing it among the top 20 airports in the world.
