Etihad announces seven new routes with focus on Caucasus and Central Asia

Etihad Airways plans to fly to seven new destinations in the Gulf, Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, as it expands Abu Dhabi's direct global connectivity.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline is introducing flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan; Baku, Azerbaijan; Bucharest, Romania; Madinah, Saudi Arabia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Yerevan, Armenia, it said on Tuesday.

Tickets will go on sale over the next few days, and services are to begin in March 2026, with the Madinah route operational in November 2025.

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With these destinations, the airline has announced or launched 27 new routes this year.

“Our goal is clear, we want to bring more people directly to Abu Dhabi. These new routes connect us to fast-growing, culturally rich regions and will help stimulate demand for tourism and trade in the UAE’s capital," Etihad Airways chief executive Antonoaldo Neves said.

This announcement comes a day after low-cost carrier Wizz Air said it will exit its operations in Abu Dhabi, citing several operational challenges, including engine reliability issues in “hot and harsh” environments.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's network includes destinations in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Routes it was serving included Almaty, Baku, Bucharest, Tashkent, Madinah and Yerevan.

Etihad Airways carried 1.8 million passengers in June, marking a 16 per cent increase compared to the same month last year.

The passenger load factor rose to 88 per cent, up from 86 per cent in June 2024, as it optimises capacity while meeting “robust demand”, it said in its latest monthly traffic report on July 14.

During the first half of 2025, the airline carried 10.2 million travellers, a 17 per cent annual rise. The average passenger load factor for the year to date stands at 87 per cent.

Etihad has already launched inaugural flights to four new destinations this year – Prague, Warsaw, Sochi and Atlanta – and is set to add another 13 routes before the year closes.

The move comes just days after Etihad unveiled three new seasonal summer destinations for 2026: Krakow in Poland, Salalah in Oman, and Kazan in Russia, all set to operate during the peak travel months.