Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi are behind some of the more eye-catching routes starting in September, alongside the ongoing international expansion of Indian LCC IndiGo.
Etihad plans to grow its European network with the launch of flights to Denmark’s capital Copenhagen. Nonstop service from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH) begins on Sept. 29.
The 3,016-mi. (2,621-nm) route marks the Gulf carrier’s first service to Denmark and will operate four times per week aboard Boeing 787-9 aircraft. For CPH, the service offers a second link to the United Arab Emirates alongside Emirates' daily flights from Dubai International Airport.
The planned launch comes a day after Etihad restores service to Dusseldorf, Germany, following a suspension since the height of the pandemic. Three roundtrips per week will be available and Dusseldorf marks the carrier’s third German gateway. It currently flies 11X-weekly to Frankfurt and daily to Munich.
Also expanding from AUH this month is Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, which is opening new routes to Iraq and Iran. The LCC originally planned to commence flights to Iraq’s capital Baghdad (BGW) in June, but pushed the launch back to Sept. 4. Flights will be twice a week. A service to Lar, Iran, begins Sept. 14, operating 3X-weekly. It will be the airline’s second route to the country alongside its existing flights to Tehran.
Elsewhere, IndiGo will further ramp up its Central Asia expansion with flights to Almaty (ALA), Kazakhstan, and Tashkent (TAS), Uzbekistan. Operations from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to TAS start on Sept. 22 with 4X-weekly flights. Service to ALA begins the next day and will be 3X-weekly. Both routes will utilize Airbus A320neo aircraft.
Other notable routes opening in September include JetBlue Airways’ second service to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, with daily flights from Boston Logan commencing on Sept. 20. China Airlines and Starlux Airlines will also go head-to-head between Taipei’s Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Kumamoto Airport, Japan. Starlux will inaugurate flights to Kumamoto, located on the island of Kyushu, on Sept. 1, with China Airlines’ service starting on Sept. 18.
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