Etihad Airways said on Thursday that it would start flights to three destinations – Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa as well as Zanzibar – from Abu Dhabi in November.

To mark the announcement, it has launched a sale on fares to these three destinations, valid until midnight on October 6, 2021. The sale price of return fares start from Dhd995 in Economy and Dhs3,995 in Business class.

The carrier will start flights to Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, from November 25. Simultaneously, it will launch flights to Cape Town. Both destinations will operate thrice weekly on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The route will be serviced by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Flight	Origin	Departs	Destination	Arrives	Frequency	Aircraft
EY 602	Abu Dhabi	02:00	Johannesburg	08:15	Monday Thursday Saturday	Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
EY 602	Johannesburg	09:35	Cape Town	11:45	Monday Thursday Saturday	Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
EY 601	Cape Town	15:30	Johannesburg	17:40	Monday Thursday Saturday	Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
EY 601	Johannesburg	19:00	Abu Dhabi	05:05 +1	Monday Thursday Saturday	Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

The new service to Zanzibar meanwhile will operate from November 26. The scheduled flights will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays on the airline’s Airbus A320 aircraft.

Flight	Origin	Departs	Destination	Arrives	Frequency	Aircraft
EY 637	Abu Dhabi	02:00	Zanzibar	07:00	Tuesday Friday Sunday	Airbus A320
EY 638	Zanzibar	22:30	Abu Dhabi	05:05 +1	Tuesday Friday Sunday	Airbus A320

The three new additions to Etihad’s network mean the UAE’s national carrier will be operating to 70 destinations across 47 countries.

“Johannesburg is an important route on our network and offers vital connectivity to and from the southern African region. On the southern coast, Cape Town is a breathtaking part of the world, with something to offer the most discerning traveller. Likewise, the beautiful island of Zanzibar will complement our network to the Maldives and Seychelles,” said Tony Douglas, group CEO of Etihad.

Earlier this week, the airline confirmed that it would upgrade its Seychelles service from four to five weekly flights from October 7, as well as operate seven additional services between October 15-24, to coincide with the half-term holidays.

While Seychelles is on Abu Dhabi’s green list, South Africa and Zanzibar are currently not on it.

Read: Abu Dhabi scraps quarantine for vaccinated travellers arriving from abroad

Vaccinated citizens, residents and visitors coming from green destinations must take a PCR test on arrival in Abu Dhabi without needing to quarantine, and undergo another test on day 6, if staying in the emirate.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated citizens, residents and visitors, including those exempt from vaccination, arriving into Abu Dhabi from green list destinations must take a PCR test on arrival, without the need to quarantine, and repeat PCR tests on days 6 and 9. Those arriving from other destinations must take a PCR test on arrival, quarantine for 10 days and undergo another PCR test on day 9.

All travellers, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, will be required to present a negative PCR test result from within 48 hours of departure, before boarding for Abu Dhabi.