The UAE's Etihad Airways has announced the addition of 6 new destinations in Africa via Abu Dhabi. The new destinations include Asmara in Eritrea, Accra in Ghana, Kinshasa and Lubumbashi in the Congo, Lagos in Nigeria and Harare in Zimbabwe.
The airline explained that this expansion reflects its investment in markets with strong growth, supporting growing demand for connectivity in trade, cargo and transport, and strengthening Abu Dhabi's role as a key gateway between Africa, India and Asia, as Etihad's network grows in China and expands in Asian markets, according to a post on the Etihad Airways website.
Etihad added that the new destinations will provide direct links between African markets and Abu Dhabi, with connecting flights to China, India and across Asia and the Middle East, supporting the movement of passengers and goods between regions seeing rapid growth in trade and investment.
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, explained that Africa represents a natural and important step in the airline's network strategy, adding that these markets are seeing strong growth driven by trade, investment and population growth, and that this new expansion comes as a direct response to structural opportunities in air transport demand, especially in the cargo and trade sectors.
According to the schedule published on the airline's website, the flight dates are as follows:
Asmara flights start on 7 November 2026, with 4 flights a week.
Accra flights launch on 17 March 2027, with 4 flights a week.
Kinshasa flights start on 18 March 2027, with 3 flights a week.
Lagos flights launch on 18 March 2027, with 7 flights a week.
Harare and Lubumbashi flights start on 24 March 2027, with 3 flights a week.
The airline stressed that adding the new African destinations will strengthen connectivity between Africa and Asia via Abu Dhabi and support passenger and cargo traffic, with belly cargo capacity available on all the new services, along with dedicated services that take into account the characteristics of exports and imports in each market.
To view the post on the Etihad Airways website, click here.
