Etihad aims for 18 million passengers by 2025: Group CEO

Etihad aims for 18 million passengers by 2025: Group CEO

Etihad Airways will introduce new destinations this year. — File photo

Published: Mon 8 Jan 2024, 8:56 PM

Etihad Airways’ plans for expansion in 2024 includes broadening its network of destinations, offering more choices to travelers, and increasing flights to key international markets through its global network, a senior official said.

The aim is to usher in a new phase of sustainable growth, underpinned by a robust strategic plan, Antonoaldo Neves, group chief executive officer, said.

Neves said that Etihad Airways will introduce new destinations this year. These include Boston, which will become its fourth station in the United States, operating four weekly flights starting from March 31. Additionally, the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, will commence operations from May 1.

The airline has added two new destinations in the Indian subcontinent in early January: Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram in south India’s Kerala state. This brings the total number of stations served by Etihad Airways in India to 10. Also, there will be an increase in the number of flights to destinations such as Cairo, with 21 weekly flights, Colombo with seven, Islamabad with 14, and the Maldives with 14 flights.

Neves anticipates a rise in passenger numbers, expecting them to return by 2025 to the levels of