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Trend:

Etihad Airways may expand flight routes to Azerbaijan by launching new flights to the country’s Gabala and Nakhchivan cities, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AZTA) Nahid Baghirov told Trend March 3.

According to the agreement between the national airlines of Azerbaijan and UAE – Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and Etihad Airways – the Abu Dhabi-Baku-Abu Dhabi joint flights have been launched for the first time. The flights will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays via Airbus A320 aircraft.

A special delegation, consisting of Etihad Airways management, diplomats, media representatives, flew from Abu Dhabi via the first EY297 flight on March 2.

“The launch of the flight will positively affect the flow of tourists from the UAE and neighboring Arab countries,” Baghirov said.

"Residents of many Arab countries prefer to use the services of more prestigious airlines, rather than low-cost ones,” he said. “Etihad Airways is a prestigious airline. I think Azerbaijan’s tourism sector will be able to benefit from the new flights. I think that after Ramadan holiday, we may have daily Abu-Dhabi-Baku-Abu Dhabi flights."

Etihad Airways, established in 2003, is a flag carrier of the UAE headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways transported 18.6 million passengers in 2017.