Etihad Airways will include a Covid-19 test in the price of tickets for UAE customers departing from Abu Dhabi until the end of the year.
The national airline will offer all passengers flying out of the UAE capital the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at Life Medical Diagnostic Centres around the country as part of their airfare.
The test is typically between Dh180 and Dh370 at health clinics and testing centres across the country.
Etihad's offer is not available, however, on flights departing Abu Dhabi for China. Passengers bound for China must organise a PCR test at a Seha facility, with the test taken within 48 hours of departure.
All travellers are currently required to present negative test results in order to board Etihad flights.
The price of PCR testing will be included in all tickets booked by passengers between Thursday, October 1 and Thursday, December 31. Tests can be taken up to 96 hours ahead of a flight's departure time, while First and Business Class passengers have the option to take the test from their own homes.
“This is a significant development which allows Etihad to provide greater ease of travel for those departing from Abu Dhabi, by removing as much inconvenience from the PCR testing process as possible," says Dr Nadia Bastaki, Etihad's vice president of medical services.
"This is one further step in the efforts being made by Etihad to provide a professional, secure and protected travel experience at every stage of their journey with us.”
The Life Medical Diagnostic Centre network has the capacity to handle 40,000 tests a day, according to chief executive Hosam Fouad.
Etihad earlier partnered with Mediclinic Middle East and Seha to offer passengers the option to take PCR tests from home; these can still be used, but do cost a separate fee.
In September, Etihad also introduced free medical cover for Covid-19-related expenses for passengers. The airline introduced complimentary insurance – being offered through AXA – as part of its Etihad Wellness programme. Dubai airline Emirates also offers free Covid-19 related medical cover to its passengers.
Tests can be booked directly with Life Dx. For more information, visit www.etihad.com
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Click through the gallery below to see the destinations currently served on Etihad's network:
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INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Etihad plans to resume flights to Ahmedabad in India from September 1. Pictures courtesy Unsplash unless otherwise specified. -
Flights to India's Bengaluru are set to resume on September 1. -
Etihad is flying special services to Chennai throughout August, but will restart its regular service to the Indian city on September 1. -
Colombo, Sri Lanka. Courtesy Shangri-La Hotels -
Etihad is operating special flights to India's Hyderabad in August and will resume regular flights on September 1. -
Islamabad, Pakistan. Passengers travelling from Pakistan must follow new travel regulations including downloading the UAE Al Hosn app before flying. -
Karachi, Pakistan. Magnitt releases Pakistan start-up funding report, as the data platform expands beyond Mena. -
Special flights are operating to India's Kochi in August, with regular flights from September 1. -
Flights to Kolkata, India are set to resume on September 1. -
Etihad will fly to Kozhikode, India from September 1. -
Lahore, Pakistan. Courtesy pxfuel -
The Maldives are open to travellers. -
Special flights are operating to Mumbai, India in August with regular flights set to start on September 1. -
Special flights are operating to New Delhi throughout August with regular flights to the Indian city scheduled to resume September 1. -
Flights to India's Thiruvananthapuram are scheduled from September 1. -
ASIA AND AUSTRALASIA: Flights to Baku in Azerbaijan resume September 1. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons -
Bangkok, Thailand. -
Jakarta, Indonesia. -
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Manila, the Philippines. -
Melbourne (outbound flights only until August 31), Australia. -
Seoul, South Korea. -
Shanghai, China is the latest destination that Etihad is flying to with flights resuming on August 24. -
Singapore. -
Sydney, Australia. -
Tokyo, Japan. -
EUROPE: Amsterdam, The Netherlands. -
Athens, Greece. -
Barcelona, Spain. -
Belgrade, Serbia. -
Brussels, Belgium. -
Travel is open, but a two-week quarantine period is in place in Ireland. -
Dusseldorf, Germany. Courtesy Kat Pilger / Wikimedia Commons -
Frankfurt, Germany. -
Geneva, Switzerland. -
Etihad will fly to Istanbul, Turkey from September 1. -
Travellers flying to London must quarantine for two weeks. -
Madrid, Spain. Wikimedia Commons -
Manchester, UK. -
Milan, Italy. -
Minsk, Belarus. -
Etihad will resume flights to Moscow in Russia from September 1. -
Munich, Germany. -
Paris, France. -
Rome, Italy. -
Zurich, Switzerland. -
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA: Amman, Jordan. Flights are scheduled to resume on September 1. -
Manama, Bahrain. -
Beirut, Lebanon. -
Foreigners need a Covid-19 test to travel to most places in Egypt. -
Emirates will resume flights to Casablanca in Morocco from September 18. -
Etihad plans to fly to Damman, Saudi Arabia from September 1 pending government approval. -
Etihad will fly to Saudi Arabia's Jeddah from September 1, pending approval. -
Kuwait City, Kuwait. -
Flights to neighbouring Muscat in Oman are scheduled to resume on September 1. -
The airline will fly to Rabat, Morocco from September 10. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons -
Etihad plans to resume flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 1. -
The Seychelles is open to travellers from select countries. -
NORTH AMERICA: Chicago, USA. -
New York, USA. -
Toronto, Canada. -
Washington DC, USA.
