Etihad begins 2 new European routes; serves 34 European airports in 2026
Nearly 100 scheduled passenger airlines operate between Middle East and Europe in 2026, including Etihad Airways. Despite the ongoing war in Iran, Etihad plans eight million two-way seats from its Abu Dhabi hub to Europe this year.
Cirium schedule information shows that capacity is up by half a percentage point compared to the prior record, which was held in 2025. Things were going to be very different. In January 2026, a month before the war started, Etihad’s European capacity was up by 27% year-over-year.
On 11 June 2026, Etihad began flying to Krakow for the first time (3-weekly). The next day, Palma de Mallorca joined its network (3-weekly). Interestingly, while Krakow has flydubai from its Dubai hub, Palma does not have flights from the UAE’s busiest airport.
Etihad will begin two more European routes this year. On 21 October, Luxembourg will be served (4-weekly), followed by Bucharest on 17 December (4-weekly). Neither flydubai nor Emirates has passenger flights to Luxembourg.
The UK is the top country
Etihad has passenger flights to 19 European countries, with Luxembourg and Romania being new additions. With 1.6 million seats, the UK is the most-served nation, with London LHR and Manchester served. It plays a vital role in connectivity via Abu Dhabi. However, the UK is only Etihad’s fourth most-served country across the airline’s full network, behind India, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Despite the war, eight countries have more capacity than last year: Poland (+124%), Czechia (+114%), Ireland (+30%), Russia (+20%), France (+18%), the Netherlands (+18%), Denmark (+11%) and the UK (+3%). The UK’s growth is entirely because of expansion on its Manchester route, while Czechia’s growth is due to the start of Prague flights last June.
Turkey is especially badly affected, with capacity down by 52%. This is influenced by Etihad ceasing to fly to Antalya last September. Flights to Istanbul IST have halved and, at certain times, even operates with a below-daily offering compared to 2025.
London LHR is the leading European route
Etihad will fly to 34 European airports in 2026. With 1.1 million one-way seats, Cirium shows that London LHR remains the airline’s most-served market in Europe. It is also the number one destination across Etihad’s entire network, just as it is for Emirates from Dubai and Qatar Airways from Doha. Etihad usually has 4-daily services to the UK’s busiest airport.
In the past, the Abu Dhabi-hubbed airline has flown to 10 other European airports: Antalya (until 2025), Belgrade (until 2020), Edinburgh (until 2018), Heraklion (2022 only), Istanbul SAW (until 2017), Larnaca (until 2016), London LGW (until 2008), Minsk (until 2020), Moscow DME (until 2021) and Venice (until 2017).
