Etihad to begin direct weekly flights from Beijing to Abu Dhabi

UAE national carrier Etihad Airways will begin a direct weekly flight from Beijing to Abu Dhabi from Monday, December 7.

EY 889 will depart Beijing at 12.30am every Monday and arrive Abu Dhabi at 5.30am local time. It will be serviced using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Etihad resumed flights between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai in July this year, initially with a weekly flight.

Read: UAE’s Etihad to resume flights to Shanghai from July 27

With the second weekly flight now added, Etihad has become the only airline in the MENA region to operate non-stop passenger flights departing from both Shanghai and Beijing.

“Being granted the rights to operate the second weekly flight by the Chinese government was huge recognition of the unrelenting joint efforts by the airline, testing institutions in the UAE, and the authorities in both countries, in the battle against Covid-19,” said Martin Drew, senior vice president sales and cargo, Etihad Aviation Group.

The airline added that all guests travelling from Abu Dhabi to China must meet Etihad’s testing requirements according to their UAE residency status.

Passengers must undergo a Covid-19 PCR test and IgM test before their flight.

Testing requirements differ for UAE residents and non-UAE residents departing from Abu Dhabi for China.

For UAE residents travelling from Abu Dhabi to China, they must:
• Show a copy of their residence visa at check-in.
• Conduct a Covid-19 PCR test and IgM test 48 hours before their departure at a G42 or SEHA facility in the UAE.
• Submit their negative test results to the Chinese embassy for a Health Code, which they will also be required to present at check-in.

For non-UAE residents travelling from Abu Dhabi to China, they must:
• Conduct a Covid-19 PCR test seven days before departure at a G42 or SEHA facility in the UAE.
• Conduct a PCR test and IgM test 48 hours before departure at a G42 or SEHA facility in the UAE – they must present their seven-day test result to be able to have their 48-hour test.
• Negative results should be submitted to the Chinese embassy for a Health Code, which they will also be required to present at check-in.
• Present a copy of their seven-day and 48-hour test results at check-in.

For guests travelling from China aboard Etihad flights, it is mandatory for them to have a Covid-19 PCR test no earlier than 96 hours before their flight.