Etihad announces plan to increase flights to Morocco

Etihad Airways has announced plans to increase its services to Morocco with the launch of a new twice-weekly service between Abu Dhabi and Rabat.

Scheduled to start on January 15, 2016, and providing the only scheduled air link between the UAE and Rabat, the new service will be operated on Wednesdays and Fridays using an A340-500 aircraft configured to carry a total of 240 passengers.

The new service is Etihad's second destination in Morocco and complements its existing daily service to Casablanca.

This brings to nearly 4,200 the total number of seats available to passengers travelling on Etihad's services between the UAE and Morocco each week, the airline said in a statement.

James Hogan, Etihad's president and CEO, said: "Our service to Casablanca has performed strongly since it was launched in June 2006 and I am delighted to build on this success with the introduction of theadditional service to Rabat.

"We remain committed to building sustainable ties in the North African region and deepening the strong relationship between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates."

The UAE and Morocco are united by a long history of cooperation and the growth of economic and trade relations between the two countries has developed significantly over recent years, with major UAE exports to Morocco including petrochemicals, metals, foodstuff products, transport equipment, tools and appliances.

Etihad also operates scheduled services to nine other destinations in Africa, including Johannesburg, Khartoum, Casablanca, Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam (from December 1) and Mahé in the Seychelles.