Etihad Airways plans to open Abu Dhabi-Baku flight
By Sara Israfilbayova
Etihad Airways (the UAE), which is one of the top ten world airlines, plans to open direct flights to Azerbaijan.
The issue was discussed during the meeting of Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UAE Dashgin Shikarov with CEO of Etihad Airways Peter Baumgartner and other representatives of the company.
Shikarov stressed that in recent years, the number of tourists from the Persian Gulf countries to Azerbaijan has increased by more than 30 times.
He noted that currently more than 45 flights a week are carried out on the routes Dubai-Baku, Sharjah-Baku, Dubai-Ganja, and there is a large passenger potential for the opening of the route to Abu Dhabi-Baku.
Shikarov pointed out that the Baku-Abu Dhabi flight will be attractive for Azerbaijani passengers, adding that the two countries signing an agreement to ease visa procedures for the UAE citizens, which will make Baku even more attractive for tourists from the Emirates.
Etihad Airways, set up by Royal Decree in July 2003, commenced commercial operations in November 2003, and has gone on to become the fastest growing airline in the history of commercial aviation.
Etihad’s fleet of 66 aircraft operates more than 1,000 flights per week, serving an international network of 84 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Etihad Airways also owns nearly 30 percent of Air Berlin, Europe’s sixth largest carrier and 40 percent of Air Seychelles.
Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE, especially their political component, are at a high level: relations between these countries are based on multi-vector cooperation taking into account mutual interests. The two nations see rapidly increasing economic cooperation and are keen to promote tourism.
Frequent visits of the leaders of two countries significantly strengthened the political ties between the countries, at the same time stimulated the growth of economic interaction, particularly in the field of tourism.
The overall trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the UAE for the past two or three years amounted to approximately $70 million, while the export from Azerbaijan to the Emirates increased by more than twice to $11.6 million.
Mainly Azerbaijan imports goods from the UAE, which are, in fact, re-exported from other countries. It is mostly metallurgical and chemical products, textiles, building materials, tobacco products, and household equipment. Azerbaijan mainly exports to the UAE fruits, juices, nuts, metal semi-finished products and so on.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates amounted to $11.9 million, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.
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