Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi will expand its direct network to 22 Indian cities in August, up from the current 17, as passenger demand from India continues to grow, a senior airport official said.
Abu Dhabi Airports Chief Commercial Officer Carsten Norland announced the expansion during a panel discussion in Abu Dhabi held in connection with the launch of new Air India Express flights to the city.
The Tata Group-owned airline has launched services to Abu Dhabi from Navi Mumbai, Indore, and Lucknow this week. It is also set to begin flights from Guwahati next month.
Norland said India remains one of Abu Dhabi's strongest markets, with passenger traffic growing by more than 20 per cent annually.
"We are running out of traffic rights," he said, adding that demand for additional capacity and more destinations continues to increase.
He said Abu Dhabi Airports has the capacity to handle more flights and is awaiting additional traffic rights to further expand connectivity between India and Abu Dhabi.
Indian passenger traffic accounts for nearly 7 million travellers annually, representing 24 per cent of the airport's overall traffic. Of these, around 5 million are point-to-point passengers, while about 2 million use Abu Dhabi as a transit hub.
IndiGo and Akasa Air are among the other airlines operating flights to Abu Dhabi.
Speaking at the event, Haitham Al Khamis, Director of Tourism Product Development at the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, described India as one of Abu Dhabi's most important tourism markets and a strategic partner. He said the relationship extends beyond tourism and is supported by strong people-to-people ties, business links and the Indian diaspora in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Airports operates five airports in the emirate, including Zayed International Airport. According to a July 2 release, Zayed International Airport handled an average of more than 93,000 passengers and nearly 500 flights a day between June 26 and June 30, connecting travellers to more than 100 destinations worldwide.