Etihad Airways pilots' hold UAE and Indian national flags at Jaipur Airport. WAM

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, has celebrated the start of its flights to Jaipur, India.

A welcome ceremony at Jaipur International Airport acclaimed the new route, which offers guests four non-stop services a week, enhancing connectivity between one of India’s cultural treasures, and the rest of the world, via Abu Dhabi.

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, said, “We are thrilled to start four weekly flights to Jaipur, a significant cultural and commercial centre. By establishing this crucial air link with Rajasthan, we aim to meet the increasing demand from travellers in and around the region, providing them with convenient access to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and seamless connectivity to our extensive global network, while delivering a remarkable flying experience.”

The start of the Jaipur service further underlines Etihad’s deepening commitment to the Indian market where the airline has increased its capacity by a third over the past 12 months. The flights will be operated with aircraft from the Airbus A320 family.

The airline carried 1.5 million guests and saw its passenger load factor average out at 84 per cent across the month.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said, “We achieved a 38 per cent year-to-date increase in passengers, underscoring our strong positive growth trajectory, and our Year-to-date passenger count has reached 7.2 million, meaning we’ve already welcomed two million more passengers this year than the same period of 2023.

WAM