Etihad Airways will shift all its Beijing flights from Beijing Capital International (PEK) to Beijing Daxing International (PKX) starting June 1.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier operates Boeing 787 flights to PEK from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and fifth-freedom flights from Nagoya (NKM) in Japan.
PKX, Beijing’s second international airport, opened in September 2019.
Etihad Aviation Group CCO Robin Kamark said that Etihad will be “one of the first airlines in the region to move to Beijing’s iconic Daxing International Airport.”
“Since launching flights between Beijing and Abu Dhabi 12 years ago, we have experienced huge growth in China’s tourism and aviation markets, and enjoyed strong demand from business and leisure travelers and cargo, assisted by direct services, codeshare partners, the mutual visa-exemption policy between the two nations implemented in January 2018, and the great joint efforts put into promoting bi-directional routes,” Kamark said.
Etihad believes travel demand to China—considerably hurt by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that originated there—will recover by June.
Read more: China’s recovery continues
“Whilst the spread of COVID-19 has posed a major challenge for all airlines serving China, with a massive drop in demand on key routes, we remain optimistic that the situation will improve by the summer,” he said.
“we continue serving Beijing from Abu Dhabi presently, demonstrating our unwavering support and commitment to our Chinese partners and the China market as a whole.”
Photo credit: Etihad Airways
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