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Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this week celebrates its very successful first year of operations in Iraq.
Etihad, the first airline in the UAE to fly to Baghdad, commenced services from Abu Dhabi to the Iraqi capital in April 2010 and two months later commenced operations to Erbil, its second destination in the country.
Today, Etihad operates daily return service to Baghdad, operated by two-class Airbus A320 aircraft, with a seat factor exceeding 70 per cent. The twice weekly service to Erbil operated by Airbus A320 aircraft has also shown steady growth.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “The positive response to our services to Iraq has exceeded expectations and is testament to the strong growth in relations between our two countries. We are committed to building strong and sustainable ties in this region and look forward to seeing continued strong demand on our services, particularly from government and business travellers, as well as people from Iraq visiting family and friends around the world.”
The timing of the services from Iraq offers air travellers convenient onward connections via Abu Dhabi to a number of key destinations across the airline’s global network, including the GCC, the Far East and European destinations.
Etihad launched cargo operations to Iraq in September 2009. Today, these operations are performing particularly well. Etihad Crystal Cargo has increased capacity on its freighter services to the country including upgrading two of its three weekly services to Erbil to Airbus A330 aircraft, with the third service operated by an Airbus A300 aircraft.
His Excellency Abdulla Ibrahim Al Zowi Al Shehi, UAE Ambassador to Iraq said: “We have witnessed the dramatic growth in bilateral relations recently between the two countries on all levels. Iraq and the UAE have great potential for cooperation and mutual development. Etihad’s services to Baghdad and Erbil are vitally important on government and social levels as they strengthen the bridges of understanding between Iraq and the UAE, as well as increasing trade and tourism.”
His Excellency Hussein Abu Tabekh, the Iraqi Charge D’affaires at the Iraqi Embassy to the UAE stated: “The opening of direct air routes to Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to Baghdad and Erbil is an important step to promote trade and tourism between the two countries. It facilitates the movement of business people from both countries and paves the way for investors travelling to Iraq through the UAE to source opportunities in the country, as well as offering services to the Iraqi community residing in the UAE.”
The Iraqi Embassy’s latest figures highlight the UAE’s significant interest in promoting trade and investment cooperation with Iraq. The volume of investments of UAE companies in Iraq had reached US $3 billion by the end of 2010 and is expected to rise to US $6 billion in the coming years. The UAE also plans to invest AED 22.2 billion in Kurdistan Iraq through to 2013. The volume of investment company ‘Dana Gas’ is worth more than US $800 million in the region.
His Excellency Falah Mustapha Baker, Director of Foreign Relations Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the Government of Kurdistan Iraq said: “The UAE and Iraq are equally serious about further enhancing the relationship between the two countries. The current bilateral relations between the UAE and Erbil are growing. It is not just rhetoric - we are discussing various viable and practical projects that can contribute to furthering relations. In the future, I hope that more UAE companies will be present in Erbil to invest in services in different sectors.
“What is very encouraging is the fact that there is great potential for the relationship between our two nations to further expand and deepen. There is a countless number of areas where our two nations will be able to create a truly win-win situation.”
Etihad’s daily service to Baghdad, EY555 departs Abu Dhabi at 10.00am and arrives at Baghdad’s international airport at 11.20am the same day. The return flight, EY554, departs Baghdad on the same day at 12.45pm, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 15.45pm.
Flight EY557 to Erbil departs Abu Dhabi at 8.40am on Tuesdays and Saturdays, arriving in Erbil at 10.30am. The return flight, EY558, departs Erbil at 11.30am on the same day, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 3.10pm.
All times quoted are local times.
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