Etihad to resume inbound flights to Abu Dhabi for UAE residents from Saturday

The airline has announced a number of flights from major cities including Amsterdam, London and Tokyo

Etihad has announced that it will begin inbound flights to Abu Dhabi this week, allowing residents to return home.

From Saturday, May 9, the airline will be operating a limited number of one-way flights to the capital from major cities around the world, including Amsterdam, London and Tokyo.

Until now, airlines in the UAE have been operating repatriation flights in conjunction with authorities and embassies, but this is the first time a list of bookable flights has been made public.

All flights have been approved by the UAE government and any passengers wishing to book onto an inbound flight will require pre-approval via the UAE Twajudi Resident service.

There, you will be asked to fill out a form providing your information and the date on which you wish to return to the UAE.

All successful applicants will then be contacted and provided with a unique ICA approval number, which will be required when booking onto any of the flights. Residents should not try to book a flight before obtaining this number. All passengers must also hold a valid UAE residency visa.

The airline has introduced a number of strict safety measures for all passengers travelling and upon reaching Abu Dhabi, they will need to undertake PCR and thermal testing, and will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

The inbound flight schedule

Amsterdam (EY78): 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29 May

Barcelona (EY50): 14, 17, 24 and 31 May

Frankfurt (EY8): 17, 24 and 31 May

Jakarta (EY475): 15 and 29 May

Kuala Lumpur (EY411): 23 and 30 May

London (EY20): 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30-May

Manila (EY423): 13, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29 and 30 May

Melbourne (EY463): 13, 20 and 27 May

Seoul (EY873): 22 and 29 May

Singapore (EY473): 20 and 27 May

Tokyo (EY871): 20 and 27 May

Toronto (EY140): 12 May

"Etihad continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of Covid-19," a spokesperson for the airline said.

"The airline has implemented an extensive sanitisation and customer safety programme and is practicing the highest standards of hygiene at every part of the customer journey. This includes catering, aircraft and cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, inflight, crew interaction, meal service, disembarkation and ground transportation, among others."

Commercial passenger flights in and out of Dubai and Abu Dhabi were grounded on March 24, but UAE airlines have been operating outbound repatriation flights for those in the country trying to get home over the past week.

Etihad plans to gradually restart all of its passenger flights after June 16 as more restrictions lift globally.

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Dubai International Airport. Courtesy MBRSC

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Los Angeles International. Courtesy MBRSC

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Paris Charles de Gaulle. Courtesy MBRSC

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Shanghai International. Courtesy MBRSC

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