Dubai: Etihad Airways will fly 2.7 million passengers between June and August, following a surge in demand for global travel. Over 1.4 million passengers will depart from Abu Dhabi through the more than 1,100 weekly network-wide departures.
“As travel rebounds from the impact of the global pandemic, Etihad has witnessed a vast increase in bookings over recent weeks,” said Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group. “With summer holidays upon us and to manage the increase in passenger numbers, Etihad has bolstered operations both locally and across our global network to ensure guests enjoy a seamless airport and flight experience.”
Guests should check-in online, use the ‘Verified to Fly’ service to submit any Covid-related travel documents for prior approval, and arrive at the airport early, said the airline.
Emirates had earlier announced it would be seeing well over 200,000 passengers a day in the coming weeks, with the Eid break next month providing another spike.
The 2.7 million fliers will include 330,000 ‘local joiners’, classified as those who will be starting their journey from Abu Dhabi, said Etihad.
According to Flightradar24, a flight tracking website, Cairo (47 weekly flights), Mumbai (46 weekly flights), and London (38 weekly flights) are the top destinations from Abu Dhabi currently. Doha, Bahrain, Kochi and Delhi are also among the busiest routes.
Last week, Emirates airline said it is expecting anywhere around 550,000 travelers in June and July on its over 2,400 weekly flights. The Dubai-based carrier will be operating at close to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity, or over 1 million weekly seats this summer to serve demand. Dubai International (DXB) is also bracing for heavy traffic - with average daily passenger traffic at 214,000 as summer travel soars between June 24 and July 4.
Airline industry body IATA (International Air Transport Association) has said the pent-up travel demand, which has been driving passenger traffic for most airlines, will start to wane in 2023 due to high rates of inflation.
More to follow...
