Etihad to begin repatriation flights from Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi's state-owned airline Etihad will resume a limited number of outbound passenger flights to aid repatriation of foreign citizens from the UAE as of early next week.

Dubai's national airline Emirates will similarly begin a restricted number of outbound passenger flights from the UAE as of 6 April.

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said that these services are not commercial flights, but special flights "for the purpose of evacuating residents and visitors who wish to leave the country and return to their country".

The GCCA affirmed that suspension of all inbound and outbound passenger flights, effective 25 March, and the transit of airline passengers in the UAE is still in effect as part of the precautionary measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

Etihad will fly to a number of destinations starting with Seoul, and then others including Melbourne, Singapore, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Amsterdam, subject to government approval.

Emirates said its initial flights would fly to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich. Emirates has scheduled four flights per week to Heathrow and three flights per week to the other cities. These flights will only carry outbound passengers, and will carry belly-hold cargo in both directions.

To help mitigate the slump in passenger demand, Dubai's crown prince Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum has pledged that the government will inject funding into Emirates.

Global and regional flight restrictions have drastically lowered demand for jet fuel, which is heavily weighing on the Mideast Gulf jet fuel market.

By Elshan Aliyev