UAE greenlights resumption of full hub ops at three airports

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NECADMA) has given its consent to the resumption of largescale hub operations at each of Abu Dhabi Int’l, Dubai Int’l, and Sharjah airports. The authority’s spokesperson, Saif Al Dhaheri, told a media gathering last week the move will specifically benefit Etihad Airways, Emirates, flydubai, and Air Arabia. However, he warned that the actual resumption of hub operations would also depend on destination countries and their willingness to accept flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Other airports, such as Dubai World Central, will be added to the list in due course, he said. With the exception of repatriation flights, the Gulf state has curbed international passenger operations since March 26. While flydubai and Air Arabia have yet to formally define their respective service resumption plans, Etihad has announced a schedule wherein effective June 10, flights from each of Amsterdam Schiphol, Barcelona El Prat, Brussels National, Dublin Int’l, Frankfurt Int’l, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid Barajas, Milan Malpensa, Paris CDG, and Zurich to Abu Dhabi will be able to connect with onward flights to each of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, Karachi Int’l, Kuala Lumpur Int’l, Manila Ninoy Aquino Int’l, Melbourne Tullamarine, Seoul Incheon, Singapore Changi, Sydney Kingsford Smith, and Tokyo Narita.