Abu Dhabi to Atlanta: Etihad to Add Hartsfield-Jackson to Route Map Next Summer 

Atlanta is among the 10 new international cities that Middle Eastern carrier Etihad Airways is set to add to its route map next summer with new nonstop flights. 

The national carrier of the United Arab Emirates will begin flights between Abu Dhabi and Atlanta on July 2, starting four times weekly.

Etihad offers a robust route map in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, with three cities in Pakistan and 11 in India comprising key nodes in its network of 90 destinations in 50 countries. 

The Atlanta was revealed along with a raft of new flights to North Africa (Tunis and Algiers) and Asia, including Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong; Hanoi, Vietnam; Chiang Mai and Krabi, Thailand; Medan, Indonesia; and Phnom Penh, Cambodia — all places that Atlantans would now have access to via one-stop routing on the new flight, which is set to take off at 10 p.m. local time. 

Etihad characterized the announcement of 10 new destinations in one day as historic for the airline, which sits in a high-traffic region for globalized airlines. Atlanta already has nonstop flights to Doha, Qatar, on Qatar Airways and a longstanding flight to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, but it has long lacked a big player from the UAE, despite Emirates having sales here. 

In addition to boosting tourism to their respective nations, Qatar and Turkish were positioned upon launching 2016 as offering deeper reach into India for the Southeast U.S. 

Georgia alone is home to an estimated 100,000 people of Indian descent who lack a nonstop route back to their country of origin. Many still see this as a glaring omission in the city’s global route map, despite having more one-stop access to India than ever, including Lufthansa through Frankfurt, Delta Air Lines Inc.’s joint venture partners at KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Air France, along with the newer entrants. 

Etihad’s decision to target Atlanta comes as Delta aims to make its way back into the Middle East from its hometown next summer via Saudi Arabia. 

Etihad also offers flights to Kenya and South Africa, two destinations growing in prominence for Atlantans. The airline revealed earlier this year that it would target three other new routes in addition to the 10 announced Nov. 25: Prague, Warsaw, and Al Alamein, Egypt. 

Businesspeople in Atlanta have welcomed the new link to the region and beyond.

“This is a major step that will help support efforts of growing international business to the Middle East and Asian markets,” Diaa Ghaly, CEO of TransGlobe, an exporter of grains and other foods, told Global Atlanta in an email.

The flight also aims to boost tourism to Abu Dhabi, offering a proposed 1 million visitors the chance to participate in a stopover program good for one or two free nights in the emirate as they transfer through Zayed International Airport to other destinations. 

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has worked to incentivize flights from Atlanta to Africa, the Middle East and other global destinations.