Etihad Airways resumes flights after Abu Dhabi drone attack

Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int’l) has confirmed it has resumed normal flight operations after it temporarily halted services as a precautionary measure after a suspected drone attack near Abu Dhabi Int’l in which three people were killed on January 17.

“Following an incident in the construction area of Abu Dhabi Airport, precautionary measures resulted in a short disruption for a small number of flights. However, normal airport operations were quickly resumed. The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is our number one priority,” an Etihad Airways spokesperson told ch-aviation.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group had attacked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in what it said was an operation using missiles and drones, setting off explosions in fuel trucks and causing a fire near the airport.

Amongst others, Etihad Airways had cancelled flights departing for Kuwait, Barcelona El Prat (Spain), Zurich (Switzerland), Milan Malpensa (Italy), Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), and Dhaka (Bangladesh), according to Flightradar24 ADS-B data. On January 18, EgyptAir also cancelled a flight to Cairo Int’l (Egypt) and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi a flight to Khartoum (Sudan), but made no further announcements.

Etihad Airways holds the lion share of about 65% market share at its home base at Abu Dhabi in terms of weekly airline seats, according to the ch-aviation capacities module. Other airlines with significant market share at the airport include Air Arabia, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Air India Express, Go First, IndiGo Airlines, AirBlue, Saudia, Qatar Airways, and PIA – Pakistan International Airlines.