Dubai: Etihad Airways operated extra flights and called in “hundreds” of extra staff on Friday to clear the backlog of passengers impacted by Thursday’s runway closure at Abu Dhabi International, the airline stated.
A technical failure of the runway systems closed Abu Dhabi International on Thursday forcing inbound flights to divert to other regional airports, outbound flights were delayed and some were cancelled.
Etihad Airways said that 37 flights were diverted and 42 flights were cancelled.
The airline has said that Thursday’s situation was beyond its control. Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) has yet to comment on the runway system failure. It has, however, released several statements blaming “extreme low visibility conditions”.
Etihad Airways said on Friday that it is providing accommodation for “more than a thousand guests who missed their onward connections”.
As of Friday mid-morning “flights to destinations across the Middle East, the Indian Sub-Continent and Western Europe have already departed … as the flight schedule gradually returns to normal,” the airline stated.
It also said that, “It will take some time before the schedule is back to normal as a result of the large number of flights and passengers affected”.
