Abu Dhabi to offer direct flights to 22 Indian cities
What's the story
Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport will soon expand its direct flight services to 22 Indian cities. The announcement was made by Carsten Norland, the Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports. Currently, the airport connects with 17 Indian cities. "We have now, as we speak, 17 cities which are online with Abu Dhabi Airport and in August that number will go from 17 cities to 22," Norland said during a panel discussion in Abu Dhabi.
Airline expansion
Air India Express launches new flights to Abu Dhabi
The announcement comes as Air India Express has recently launched new flights to Abu Dhabi from Navi Mumbai, Indore, and Lucknow.
The airline is also set to start services from Guwahati next month.
Norland emphasized the importance of India as a strong market for Abu Dhabi, with passenger numbers increasing over 20% annually.
He said they are ready to increase connections between India and Abu Dhabi but are limited by traffic rights.
Passenger statistics
Indian travelers make up large chunk of Abu Dhabi's traffic
Norland noted that Indian travelers make up a large chunk of Abu Dhabi's airport traffic.
"Indian traffic is almost 7 million passengers, and that becomes 24% of our traffic," he said.
Out of these, five million passengers are point-to-point travelers who stay in Abu Dhabi, while two million use the network for other destinations.
Strategic partnership
India 1 of Abu Dhabi's most important markets
Haitham Al Khamis from the Department of Tourism and Culture also spoke at the panel discussion.
He called India one of Abu Dhabi's most important markets and a strategic partner.
"The relationship is beyond tourism and is built on strong people-to-people ties, business links... Indian diaspora has made Abu Dhabi their second home," he said.