Etihad Airways actually wanted to start a non-stop connection from Abu Dhabi to Vienna in May 2020 and expand it quickly. But nothing will come of this in the summer flight schedule of 2021 either, because the carrier postponed the plans for the time being.

The state airline of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi confirmed to Aviation Direct that the route will not begin at the end of March 2021, as last announced. The plans to fly to Vienna are basically sticking to the plan. Etihad Airways is now aiming to start the route on October 31, 2021. The airline did not give any further reasons for the decision.

Etihad Airways announced the start of a connection from Abu Dhabi to Vienna in the middle of the first lockdown phase last year. This should start in May 2020, but has been repeatedly postponed without further communication. Most recently, the plan was to start at the end of March 2021, but the golf carrier is not meeting this date either. There is currently no non-stop connection to Abu Dhabi from Vienna.

In the past, the route was briefly served by the now defunct Air Berlin subsidiary Niki, but was discontinued due to a lack of demand. Etihad Airways is currently unable to offer transfer connections to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, even through partners.