Etihad to launch direct Beijing-Abu Dhabi route

From December 7, 2020, Etihad Airways will start flights between Beijing, China and Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

Etihad Airways is expanding its destination network as it adds China’s capital on the list. The airline would be the only carrier in the Middle East region to operate direct passenger flights departing from both Shanghai and Beijing, according to its press release. The flights from Shanghai to Abu Dhabi were restarted in late July 2020. 

The flights are scheduled to operate twice a week using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Safety protocols before taking a flight apply: UAE passengers must take a COVID-19 PCR and antibody test while passengers from China need to have only a COVID-19 PCR test done no earlier than 96 hours. 

“China continues to be a strategically important market for Etihad and resuming an additional passenger route connecting China with Abu Dhabi is a welcome development. Being granted the rights to operate the second weekly flight by the Chinese government was a huge recognition of the unrelenting joint efforts by the airline, testing institutions in the UAE, and the authorities in both countries, in the battle against COVID-19,” said Martin Drew, the senior vice president of sales and cargo at Etihad Aviation Group. 

The UAE’s national airline plans to resume flights to Serbia, Russia, Belarus, Italy, Morocco, and the Seychelles in January 2021. In the next few months Etihad Airways network should expand to 60 destinations. However, the flights to Greece will be temporarily suspended.

“As part of an ongoing review of network performance due to the impact of Covid-19 on global travel, Etihad Airways' flights from Abu Dhabi to Athens will be suspended between December 16, 2020 and January 15, 2021,” said an Etihad spokesperson.