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Etihad Airways has announced plans to commence nonstop summer flights between Abu Dhabi and Zanzibar starting June 14, 2026. The airline revealed this development on the social media platform X, indicating that the route will be serviced by A320 aircraft.
Zanzibar, located off Tanzania’s coast in the Indian Ocean, is known as the "Spice Island." It attracts tourists with its historic Stone Town, coral-reef diving opportunities, and palm-lined beaches. According to Etihad Airways, the new nonstop flight from Abu Dhabi will connect Gulf source markets to East Africa’s safari gateways via an island stop. This move aims to pair leisure demand with regional trade and diaspora traffic. The routing also takes advantage of Abu Dhabi’s hub status to channel connections from Europe and Asia into Zanzibar’s tourism economy during the northern summer when resort occupancy typically increases.
Etihad's announcement specifies a start date of June 14, 2026, for this seasonal summer service using A320 aircraft. The A320-series aircraft has a nominal range of approximately 6,100 km for the A320ceo model and higher for neo variants. This provides a comfortable performance margin for this medium-haul sector while aligning capacity with leisure demand. Utilizing narrowbody aircraft for new leisure routes is a common strategy employed by airlines to manage risk and seasonality without compromising schedule integrity.
