Etihad Airways is to switch flights to China’s capital to the giant new Beijing Daxing international airport despite a slump in travel demand due to coronavirus.
The UAE carrier will transfer services from June 1 with daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights to and from its Abu Dhabi base.
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Group commercial officer Robin Kamark said: “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 and 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.”
Daxing, claimed to be the largest single-structure airport terminal and integrated transportation hub, is projected to reach a network of 28 cities in China, home to 202 million people, by high speed train within three hours.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company agreed a sister-airport partnership with Beijing Daxing in October to strengthen links between the two capitals.
“Today, we are proud to announce that Etihad Airways will be one of the first airlines in the region to move to Beijing’s iconic Daxing International Airport,” Kamark added.
“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 travellers, 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.
“The move also further reinforces our commitment to the China market and our Chinese guests and contributes to the promising bilateral relationship.”