Etihad Airways recently unveiled a major international expansion, with 10 new routes from Abu Dhabi starting in the second half of 2025. The company will have new operations to Africa, Asia and North America, being Asia the main market with a total of seven new destinations, followed by Africa with two and one to the United States.

For the first time in its history, Etihad announced 10 new additions to its route network on the same day. Algiers (Algeria), Atlanta (United States), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Hanoi (Vietnam), Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Krabi (Thailand), Medan (Indonesia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Taipei (Taiwan) and Tunis (Tunisia) will be the destinations, which will commence between July and November next year.

The UAE airline will provide these routes by Airbus A321LR, Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets. Etihad’s Airbus A321-251NXs have 223 seats (8 Business and 215 Economy), the A350-1000s feature 371 seats (44 Business and 327 Economy) and the Boeing 787-9s are configured with 226, 290 or 302 seats, depending on the aircraft.

10 new route schedule · Etihad Airways

July 2nd, 2025 · Atlanta (A350)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 13  Abu Dhabi AUH 09:30 · 16:30 ATL Atlanta
• EY 14  Atlanta ATL 22:00 · 19:30+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

September 7th, 2025 · Taipei (787)

Daily

• EY 898  Abu Dhabi AUH 21:45 · 09:50+1 TPE Taipei
• EY 899  Taipei TPE 19:35 · 00:15+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

October 2nd, 2025 · Medan (A321LR)

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• Abu Dhabi AUH 21:10 · 07:10+1 KNO Medan

Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• Medan KNO 09:05 · 13:00 AUH Abu Dhabi

October 3rd, 2025 · Phnom Penh (A321LR)

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 434  Abu Dhabi AUH 21:10 · 07:20+1 PNH Phnom Penh

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

• EY 435  Phnom Penh PNH 08:40 · 13:00 AUH Abu Dhabi

October 9th, 2025 · Krabi (A321LR)

Daily

• EY 424  Abu Dhabi AUH 08:50 · 18:40 KBV Krabi
• EY 425  Krabi KBV 20:40 · 00:30+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

November 1st, 2025 · Tunis (A321LR)

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• EY 739  Abu Dhabi AUH 02:50 · 06:50 TUN Tunis
• EY 740  Tunis TUN 10:20 · 19:10 AUH Abu Dhabi

November 3rd, 2025 · Chiang Mai (A321LR)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 426  Abu Dhabi AUH 21:10 · 05:55+1 CNX Chiang Mai

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday

• EY 427  Chiang Mai CNX 08:45 · 13:00 AUH Abu Dhabi

November 3rd, 2025 · Hanoi (A321LR)

Daily

• EY 430  Abu Dhabi AUH 08:50 · 18:10 HAN Hanoi
• EY 431  Hanoi HAN 19:25 · 00:30+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

November 3rd, 2025 · Hong Kong (787)

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 870  Abu Dhabi AUH 21:45 · 08:40+1 HKG Hong Kong

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

• EY 871  Hong Kong HKG 19:25 · 00:15+1 AUH Abu Dhabi

November 7th, 2025 · Algiers (A321LR)

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 737  Abu Dhabi AUH 02:50 · 07:40 ALG Algiers
• EY 738  Algiers ALG 09:40 · 19:10 AUH Abu Dhabi

Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “This expansion reflects our commitment to listening to our valued guests. We’ve carefully chosen cities that embody the experiences, adventures, and opportunities that matter to them. Whether seeking inspiring landscapes, vibrant cultural experiences, reuniting with family and friends, pursuing business growth, or educational journeys, our new routes will help make their travel dreams a reality.”

“This moment is not just about expanding our network; it’s about sharing Abu Dhabi with the world. With its endless sunshine, diverse cuisine, rich culture, exhilarating family theme parks, and safe, beautiful beaches, Abu Dhabi offers something for everyone. Our expanded network will make it easier than ever for guests to experience everything our home city has to offer.”

“Launching ten new destinations in a single day underscores our unwavering commitment to growing our airline with a fantastic route network and world-class, customer-focused service. This incredible milestone would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of our team and the ongoing support of our guests.”

Furthermore, prior to its major expansion, Etihad had announced other new routes for 2025. El Dabaa (Egypt), Prague (Czech Republic) and Warsaw (Poland), as we have been reporting in our articles, will join Etihad Airways’ regular network next year.

June 2nd, 2025 · Prague

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

• EY 155  Abu Dhabi AUH 02:50 · 07:15 PRG Prague
• EY 156  Prague PRG 11:20 · 19:05 AUH Abu Dhabi

June 3rd, 2025 · Warsaw

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday

• EY 159  Abu Dhabi AUH 02:45 · 06:50 WAW Warsaw
• EY 160  Warsaw WAW 11:15 · 19:00 AUH Abu Dhabi

July 17th, 2025 · El Dabaa

Thursday and Sunday

• EY 721  Abu Dhabi AUH 09:20 · 12:35 DBB El Dabaa
• EY 722  El Dabaa DBB 14:15 · 19:05 AUH Abu Dhabi

In addition to the 13 routes announced, Etihad Airways plans to increase frequencies on routes to Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania effective 2025, all to/from Abu Dhabi.

Schedule – increases

• Melbourne (MEL): from 7 to 8 weekly · March 30th, 2025
• Denpasar (DPS): from 4 to 7 weekly · March 31st, 2025
• Munich (MUC): from 10 to 14 weekly · May 2nd, 2025
• Zurich (ZRH): from 10 to 12 weekly · May 3rd, 2025
• Barcelona (BCN): from 10 to 12 weekly · June 2nd, 2025
• Manchester (MAN): from 10 to 12 weekly · June 2nd, 2025
• Zurich (ZRH): from 12 to 14 weekly · June 2nd, 2025
• Manchester (MAN): from 12 to 13 weekly · June 30th, 2025
• Dublin (DUB): from 7 to 10 weekly · July 1st, 2025
• Madrid (MAD): from 10 to 11 weekly · July 2nd, 2025
• Sydney (SYD): from 7 to 10 weekly · July 3rd, 2025
• Málaga (AGP): from 3 to 5 weekly · July 4th, 2025
• Madrid (MAD):  from 11 to 14 weekly · July 30th, 2025
• Barcelona (BCN): from 12 to 14 weekly · August 1st, 2025
• Jakarta (CGK): from 10 to 14 weekly · August 1st, 2025
• Casablanca (CMN): from 4 to 7 weekly · August 3rd, 2025
• Manchester (MAN): from 13 to 14 weekly · August 4th, 2025
• Copenhagen (CPH): from 4 to 5 weekly · August 5th, 2025
• Johannesburg (JNB): from 4 to 5 weekly · August 7th, 2025
• Copenhagen (CPH): from 5 to 7 weekly · October 1st, 2025 (A321LR replaces 787-9)
• Düsseldorf (DUS): from 3 to 7 weekly · October 1st, 2025 (A321LR replaces 787-9)

2025 will be an important year for Etihad Airways, with a regular network of more than 70 destinations in over 50 different countries. The company expects to carry nearly one million passengers to Abu Dhabi, and almost 20 million passengers across its network.

Etihad’s fleet consists of 99 aircraft, averaging nine years old.

Etihad Airways incorporated its first Airbus A320neo

On November 27th at 19:43 local time, the A320neo, with current registration VP-CFW, arrived at Zayed International Airport (Abu Dhabi) from Bergen op Zoom Woensdrecht Air Base Airport (Netherlands), following a ferry flight of 6 hours and 39 minutes.

The Airbus A320-251N has the “Chennai Super Kings” livery, representing an Indian cricket club. CSK and Etihad reached a commercial agreement in February 2024, showing the airline’s interest in the Indian market.

Etihad Airways is the official sponsor of the Chennai Super Kings, which plays in the Indian Premier League, joining other agreements related to clubs or sporting events, including Manchester City and the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The A320neo will begin scheduled operations in December.

Other articles we have published

• Norse, Air Tanzania add connections in South Africa (November 8th)
• Virgin Atlantic returns to Cancun (November 15th)
• KLM adds points east and west (November 22nd)
• Allegiant announces 44 new routes for 2025 (November 29th)

Cover photo: *DaVe* – JetPhotos (Abu Dhabi – Zayed International Airport – OMAA, United Arab Emirates)