Etihad Airways has hosted open day sessions to recruit staff from budget carrier Wizz Air, which is suspending its Abu Dhabi operations from September.
“We’ve extended our support to affected colleagues and have hosted open days to provide them with potential opportunities at Etihad,” Dr Nadia Bastaki, chief people, government and corporate affairs officer of Etihad Aviation Group, told The National.
“This response reflects our broader responsibility to contribute positively to the aviation ecosystem in the region, particularly in challenging times.”
The push to hire Wizz Air workers is part of Etihad's plans to hire pilots, cabin crew, engineers and airport staff to boost its head count by 1,500 this year alone.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline, which currently has a workforce of 12,000 people, plans to recruit 2,000 workers every year for the next five years as part of its ambitious growth plan to double its fleet and passenger volumes by 2030, according to Dr Bastaki.
“Our focus is on attracting top-tier talent and ensuring that all efforts align with Etihad’s long-term expansion while fostering the development of UAE nationals within our workforce,” she said.
The challenge for the industry in the future is attracting talent, Arik De, chief revenue and commercial officer of Etihad Airways, told The National onboard the delivery flight of Etihad's first Airbus A321LR from Hamburg to Abu Dhabi last week.
Earlier this month, Wizz Air said it was suspending operations in Abu Dhabi to focus on core markets following a “comprehensive reassessment”.
The no-frills airline cited operational challenges, including engine problems that led to the grounding of aircraft, among reasons for the exit. It began operations in the UAE capital in January 2021.
The move by Wizz Air leaves about 450 staff in limbo as some will be unable to relocate to the airline's European operations without European passports or visas, according to a Bloomberg report.
Expansion push
Etihad Airways is hiring amid a major expansion push with a plan to carry 38 million passengers annually and grow its fleet to 220 planes by 2030.
In June, Etihad said it carried 20 million people in a rolling 12-month period for the first time and was operating 101 aircraft.
This month, Emirates Group also announced a major hiring spree with plans to recruit 17,300 people including more cabin crew, pilots and engineers as well as cargo, catering and ground handling staff.
The Dubai-based aviation group's plans to add staff in 350 different roles in the financial year ending March 2026 will boost its total workforce by 14 per cent.
Boeing's latest 20-year outlook for commercial pilots, crew and technicians shows that the industry will require nearly 2.4 million new aviation professionals globally by 2044 to meet the long-term increase in air travel.
In the Middle East, airlines will need a total of 234,000 new aviation personnel by 2044. They will be made up of 67,000 pilots, 63,000 technicians and 104,000 cabin crew, Boeing said in its 2025 Pilot and Technician Outlook report.
Return to first-class
Etihad will embark on a programme to refresh its older aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, Mr De said. It will cost around $1 billion.
The retrofit programme will include older Boeing 777s, 787-9 Dreamliners, Airbus A350s and the A321 classic version, he said.
This will entail bringing a first-class seat, lie-flat business-class seats and “surprise” product announcements that will be revealed “sooner than later”, he added.
Etihad plans to equip its entire fleet of wide bodies and narrow bodies with a first-class product by 2030, going against an industry-wide trend of many airlines removing their first-class seats and improving their business-class product.
“We want to have all the planes in Etihad with a first-class [product] – that’s the target in five years,” Etihad chief executive Antonoaldo Neves said in Hamburg during a media briefing last week.
Etihad took delivery of the first of 30 A321LR narrowbodies from the Airbus facility in Hamburg last week, showcasing first-class seats on a small plane. Another nine A321LRs will be handed over this year, 10 in 2026, five in 2027 and another five in 2028.
After the 10th plane, the incoming A321LR deliveries will feature new changes, according to Mr De.
“It will be bolder and better. Next year will be a different product,” he said, declining to provide details.
Airbus A380 operations
Etihad Airways is also considering returning more of its Airbus A380s to service, Mr De added.
It currently operates seven of its 10 double-deckers. In June it started operating the A380 on daily flights to Toronto, boosting capacity by 31 per cent.
“We continue to explore bringing additional A380s back,” Mr De said. “We want more A380s back, but we don't want to bring them if they don't bring us money.”
Etihad began to gradually reintroduce A380s to the fleet after they were grounded by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when global air travel came to a near-standstill.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Donating your hair
• Your hair should be least 30 cms long, as some of the hair is lost during manufacturing of the wigs.
• Clean, dry hair in good condition (no split ends) from any gender, and of any natural colour, is required.
• Straight, wavy, curly, permed or chemically straightened is permitted.
• Dyed hair must be of a natural colour
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
