Six new destinations and 71 extra flights a week to India are the highlights of Abu Dhabi International Airport's summer 2014 flying schedule for air travellers, the busiest in its history.
The number of weekly flights available for business travellers and holiday makers has increased by 18% compared to last year's summer from 1,052 to 1,242.
New routes to be served this summer compared to the same period in 2013 include non-stop flights from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles in the USA, Zurich in Switzerland, Belgrade in Serbia, Perth in Australia, Jaipur in India and Yerevan in Armenia.
Abu Dhabi International Airport will also see more flights this summer in the Gulf region to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Additionally, more aircraft will fly to Pakistan with extra flights to Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, Peshawar and Rahin Yar Khan.
European cities to be further linked with the UAE's capital city including Rome, Moscow, Munich, Athens and Dublin.
Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore will have 14 extra flights a week from Abu Dhabi – the greatest growth in the Indian market. There will be 10 new services to Mumbai, eight to Cochin and seven to Delhi on a weekly basis. The new route to Jaipur operated by Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will operate once a day.
Eng. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "The summer schedule will be the largest flying programme Abu Dhabi has ever operated. The growth compared to last year is a testament to the eyes of the world looking more and more at the UAE's capital, and to the country's national airline, Etihad Airways, satisfying that ever growing demand.”
"We have in place an award winning airport that accommodates the increasing number of passengers using Abu Dhabi International Airport as their destination or travel hub. This is an exciting time in our development as we remain on track to open the world's biggest new terminal in 2017 and the growth in the number of flights linking Abu Dhabi to cities all around the world is a trend that Abu Dhabi Airports expects to continue in the years ahead."
Earlier this week the airport reported a 15.1% increase in passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2014 at Abu Dhabi International Airport, as compared to Q1 2013.
The airport’s passenger statistics showed that in the first quarter of 2014, a total of 4,560,169 passengers used Abu Dhabi International Airport, a 15.1% increase over Q1 2013 (3,963,458 passengers). Aircraft movements rose to 35,844 in Q1 2014, representing 11.8% growth compared with 32,062 movements logged in Q1 2013. Cargo activity rose to 183,344 tonnes handled at the three terminals, representing a 15.8% increase when compared to Q1 2013. The published report indicated that the month of March 2014 has seen in parallel a 15.2% increase in passenger numbers compared to March 2013, to register 1,584,022 passengers passing through the airport during the month.
Commenting on the traffic report, Al Haddabi said: “We have seen more than 4.5 million passengers pass through Abu Dhabi International Airport in the first three months of the year, which is a record quarterly performance. It is clear that businesses and tourists alike increasingly see Abu Dhabi both as a destination of choice and as a logical transit point on longer journeys. This in turn is further evidence of the airport’s rapidly growing status as a major global transportation hub, and shows why our capacity enhancement programme remains a critical and complex initiative to enable passengers to have the best possible travel experience.”
The top five routes from Abu Dhabi International Airport during March were Manila, Bangkok, Jeddah, Doha and London Heathrow.