Etihad Airways has indefinitely postponed the return of its Abu Dhabi-Nairobi direct flights. This comes days after the airline failed to launch the flights on June 1, 2024 as it had announced earlier on.
“Etihad Airways has delayed the launch of its flights to Nairobi for reasons that are beyond its control and apologizes to its guests for any inconvenience this may have caused,” a representative for the airline was quoted by a local business newspaper.
“We continue to plan for our future return to the Kenyan market which we remain committed to.”
The Abu Dhabi-Nairobi direct flights were initially set to start on May 1, 2023, nearly three years after the airline ceased the flights due to the 2020 pandemic. Etihad had announced that it would operate daily flights to Nairobi using the advanced Airbus A320, featuring Business and Economy cabins.
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The flights by Etihad were expected to restore commercial non-stop passenger connections between the two cities, and guests from Kenya would have been able to connect with Etihad flights to the GCC, the US, Europe, India and South-East Asia.
It would have charged an introductory fare price of Sh. 42,820 for a one-way ticket on economy seats on May 1. First class seats would have cost 157,865 on the same day.
However, Etihad Airways canceled the resumption of its Nairobi-Abu Dhabi flights at the eleventh hour, leaving some customers confused and stranded. Following this cancellation, the airline said that the flights would resume on June 1.