Etihad Airways, the flagship carrier of the UAE, announced on Friday that it carried 5 million passengers in the first quarter of 2025. This performance highlights its status as one of the fastest-growing airlines globally, with 1.6 million passengers welcomed in March alone, representing a 14 percent increase compared to the same month last year, according to Khaleej Times

Additionally, the airline achieved a passenger load factor of 87 percent during the first quarter, up from 86 percent in the same period of 2024. To support this growth, Etihad expanded its capacity and increased its operating fleet size by 10 percent.

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, commented on the growth, stating that the airline has welcomed nearly 20 million passengers over the past year. In March 2025, the airline also announced two new routes and increased flight frequencies, bringing the total number of new destinations scheduled for 2025 to 16.

Notably, Etihad has introduced a new route to Peshawar, Pakistan, which will commence on September 29, 2025. This route joins existing connections to Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore, making it the airline’s fourth non-stop service to Pakistan.

Moreover, Etihad added a third daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO), raising the total number of weekly flights to 21. In November 2024, the airline had previously announced plans to add 10 new destinations throughout 2025, connecting Abu Dhabi with key cities across the Asia Pacific region.

The new destinations set to launch from July 2025 include Atlanta, Taipei, Medan, Phnom Penh, Krabi, Tunis, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Hanoi, and Algiers. Neves expressed satisfaction with the airline’s performance, highlighting that March marked the highest customer satisfaction scores in Etihad’s history, reflecting their commitment to providing an exceptional travel experience.