Etihad Airways, a flag carrier and the second largest airline of the UAE, has announced that they will be increasing its flight operations frequency to Maldives. The airline which flies a large number of tourists to Maldives will be doing 11 services a week. Effective 15 June 2018, 4 extra flights will operate year round. Early morning arrival times will be targeted to allow guests to maximise their stay in the Maldives.
Along with providing more choice and flexibility for passengers, overall connectivity between Maldives and countries on Etihad Airways European networks will also be improved according to the airline. With the expansion, a two-class A320 aircraft will be offering 16 seats in Business Class and 120 in Economy Class on the route. Additional flights are scheduled to operate every Monday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Currently, the airline operates a daily flight from Abu Dhabi to Maldives and one from Maldives to Abu Dhabi.
CEO of Etihad Airways, Mr Peter Baumgartner stated that they will be increasing flights on the Abu Dhabi – Male’ route. “We are increasing frequency to 11 flights a week in order to cater to growing demand on the route, and to provide our guests with more choice of flights so that they can make the most of their stay in the Maldives.” He said.
Since Etihad Airways launched the route in November 2011, it has flown over 550,000 passengers back and forth. UAE visitors increased 35 percent in the last 12 months, while Europe remains the main source market of tourists for Maldives.
