Etihad Airways plans to restore service from Melbourne, Australia (MEL) to London Heathrow (LHR) via its hub in Abu Dhabi (AUH) after it was suspended because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Etihad Airways, which owns 21% of Virgin Australia, has said it was unable to provide further funding to prevent the airline’s entry into administration but remains open to discussions on a possible relaunch.
Australia’s second-largest carrier plans to continue operating a vastly reduced schedule while administrators from Deloitte work to find a buyer for the airline.
Etihad Airways anticipates slowly increasing the number of passenger flights it operates from May 1, as it starts to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Etihad Airways plans to start trials at its home airport of a device that alerts staff to the presence of passengers with medical conditions, potentially including the early stages of the coronavirus infection.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced plans to deploy passenger Boeing 787-10s on cargo flights, to ensure the supply of fresh-produce imports into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways will suspend all passenger flights for 14 days beginning Mar. 25 following a United Arab Emirates (UAE) government directive aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19.