UAE's Etihad to resume limited passenger flights as travel restrictions ease

Dubai — Etihad Airways, the UAE's second-biggest carrier, said on Thursday it plans to resume limited passenger flights on May 1, providing a lift to regional jet fuel demand.

"Subject to UAE government imposed travel restrictions being lifted on passenger travel, Etihad plans to operate a reduced network of scheduled passenger services from 1 May to 30 June, with the aim of gradually returning to a fuller schedule as and when the global situation improves," it said in a statement.

Etihad also continues to operate special passenger flights for UAE citizens and other flights to carry belly-hold cargo.

The UAE on March 25 suspended passenger flights for two weeks, except for emergency evacuation and cargo flights, marking the country's worst aviation crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Emirates, the world's biggest long-haul flight operator, was allowed to resume partial flights on April 6 to carry outbound travelers. .

Busiest hub

Dubai International Airport, the home of Emirates, last year retained its title as the busiest hub for international travel, despite a 3.1% drop in passenger numbers to 86.4 million, which was partly attributed to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Emirates, the biggest operator of A380 super jumbo jets and Boeing's 777, carried 29.6 million passengers between April 1 and September 30 of 2019, down 2% from the year earlier period.

Jet fuel demand in the UAE accounts for more than 30% of the jet fuel consumption in the Middle East region and more than 2.5% of the global jet fuel demand, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. The demand does not include refueling aboard of UAE's international flights.