Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates,will connect the Middle East to the Scottish capital with the launch this week of daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh. Edinburgh is Etihad Airways’ first Scottish destination, and its third point in the UK, alongside a triple-daily operation to London Heathrow and double-daily flights to Manchester.

The new service is operated with a two-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering a total of 22 seats in Business Class and 240 seats in Economy Class. It will provide connections through the Abu Dhabi hub to the world’s most attractive holiday destinations and trade centers for the Scottish economy in the Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Asia and Australia.

Peter Baumgartner, Chief Commercial Officer for Etihad Airways, said: “Scotland is the natural next step on our growth trajectory in the UK, with strong tourism and business traffic in both directions.  We have been impressed by the welcome we have received from Edinburgh Airport and from the Scottish tourism industry.  Many local stakeholders have played a part in attracting us to the city and welcoming us here, and we’re confident this service will be a great success.

From a business and trade perspective, the UAE is already a primary trade partner for Scotland in the Middle East region.  According to figures released at the end of 2014 by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, bilateral trade between the UAE and UK reached more than £12.36 billion in 2013.

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Etihad Airways’ schedule for Edinburgh flights: