Why it matters
Affects 3 airline programs (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways).
What happened
Etihad Airways is operating 80 passenger flights from its Abu Dhabi hub on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. This represents a significant increase in daily capacity as the airline continues to recover from its brief suspension of operations following the start of the Iran War on February 28, 2026. Etihad is currently operating at roughly 40% of its pre-war schedule. While the airline no longer publishes a comprehensive daily flight list, recent data shows a steady ramp-up: 64 flights on March 20, rising to 80 by April 1. The carrier is also relaunching specific destinations that were paused during the initial suspension. Additionally, Etihad has extended its flexible rebooking and refund policies until April 15, 2026, and lowered Etihad Guest tier qualification and requalification criteria by 25% until March 31, 2027. The airline is launching aggressive sales to drive bookings as it increases frequencies to make connecting at Abu Dhabi easier
Sources add · 1
- LoyaltyLobby: Etihad has really started to ramp up operations this week, after flying a very limited schedule for a couple of weeks at the start of the Iran War
Sources cited · 2
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