COVID-19 travel updates
Last updated Tuesday 24 March 2020 at 23:59 pm UAE
All Etihad Airways flights to, from and via Abu Dhabi have been temporarily suspended. Read more
If you’re scheduled to fly with Etihad Airways before 30 June 2020, you can rebook your flight for free, or use the value of your ticket as credit towards your next trip.
You can change your trip to travel on or before 30 June 2020. You can even fly to a different destination within a specified zone. You can make more than one change to your booking.
Change your flight
Cancel your booking and use the value as credit towards your next trip. And if you’re an Etihad Guest member, we’ll reward you with up to 5,000 bonus miles too. Book before 30 September 2020, for travel until 31 July 2021.
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The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), have brought forward their directive to suspend all inbound, outbound, and transit passenger flights in the UAE to today. This decision has been made to limit the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus and to protect citizens, residents, and international travellers.
As a result, Etihad Airways will suspend all departures from Abu Dhabi International Airport immediately for an initial 14 days, subject to further directives by the relevant authorities. All Etihad Airways aircraft currently outside the UAE today, Tuesday 24 March, will continue to operate to Abu Dhabi as planned, with the final arrival on 25 March, carrying passengers permitted to enter the UAE under current government imposed restrictions.
We deeply regret any inconvenience and disruption this will cause our customers during this challenging period. Our teams will continue to make every effort to assist its customers and to advise them of their options.
All guests affected by the temporary flight suspension are advised to visit etihad.com/travelalerts to understand their rebooking options.
Etihad Airways continues to follow UAE and international government and regulatory authority directives and is applying a contingency plan to assist affected customers. The airline will announce the resumption of services through its usual channels once restrictions are lifted.
From 23 March, only UAE citizens will be permitted entry into Abu Dhabi. All other guests are advised not to make their way to the airport.
As a directive from authorities in Abu Dhabi, all transit travel through Abu Dhabi International Airport will be suspended as of 22:00 (UAE local time) on Monday 23 March.
If you are booked on a connecting flight via Abu Dhabi to anywhere else on our network, you will not be able to travel.
Only the following guests will be allowed entry into Abu Dhabi:
If you do not fall into any of these categories, please do not go to the airport.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause.
We will only fly when we know it is safe for our guests and our teams to do so. We’re working closely with government and health authorities to monitor the situation as it develops and implement network changes whenever we need to.
To check restrictions that might affect your flight, please visit the IATA Travel Centre.
The World Health Organisation has designated the Covid-19 virus outbreak as a pandemic. In response to this issue, extensive measures have been introduced globally to help limit the spread of the virus.
Many flights have been suspended and nations including the United Arab Emirates have introduced restrictions to limit travel by their own nationals, or to limit the entry of passengers who have recently visited certain countries.
Any changes to current restrictions will be advised here once officially confirmed
In compliance with directives from UAE and other government agencies, or due to the impact on services of travel restrictions, Etihad Airways has suspended services to the destinations, listed below. Services on some other routes have been reduced.
Because more than 30 countries served by Etihad have introduced restrictions on travel, and restrictions can be imposed or changed at short notice, not all can be listed here. To check details of restrictions which might affect upcoming flights, passengers should visit https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/
Due to local requirements, some of our airport lounges have been closed or their access and operations restricted.
To help minimise congestion on Guest Contact Centre phone lines, passengers are urged to call only if their flights are due to depart within the next 48 hours.
Please note that in all airports except Abu Dhabi, our staff do not have reservations or ticketing facilities and are not able to assist with booking changes.
The airline also has robust measures in place to minimise health risks to passengers and crew. Cabin cleaning and air quality measures taken by Etihad are listed at the end of this document.
Effective from Thursday, 19 March, the UAE suspended, for an initial period of two weeks, re-entry of valid visa holders who were out of the country.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation requested those outside the UAE and holding valid UAE visas, to pursue the following procedures:
Those now staying in their countries of origin must contact the UAE diplomatic missions in their respective nations for all necessary support and to streamline their return back to the UAE
Those outside the UAE for business considerations must contact their employers in the UAE as well as Emirati diplomatic missions in their host countries for all necessary support to facilitate their return to the UAE.
Those on vacation must contact UAE diplomatic missions in their respective host countries for all necessary support to facilitate their return back to the UAE.
The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) has urged the families and kin of those affected by the decision contact the ICA for information on measures required.
Contact details:
Mobile: 0501066099 / Landline 02 3128867 or 02 3128865
Email: Operation@ica.gov.ae / Fax: 025543883
UAE residents currently abroad requiring return for humanitarian or emergency reasons
Two dedicated helplines have been established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to assist holders of UAE residency visas who are currently abroad and require assistance to return to the UAE for humanitarian and emergency reasons.
This service is also available for their family members and first-degree relatives in the UAE. Please call +971 2496 5228 or +971 9208 3344.
Guests who have redeemed Etihad Guest Miles for a GuestSeat, and whose journeys have been disrupted, should contact the Etihad Airways Guest Contact Centre. These tickets are fully refundable if guests do not find a suitable future travel date.
To help you maintain your Tier Status, you’ll earn double Tier Miles on all trips between 1 March – 30 June 2020, and you’ll automatically accrue monthly bonus Tier Miles from 31 March.
If you’re an Etihad Guest member and were due to travel between 1 March and 30 June 2020, you’re eligible to receive bonus Etihad Guest Miles when you cancel your booking for Etihad Credit.
To change the date or destination of your flight or convert your booking to Etihad Credit, please use our online form.
If you booked your flight with a travel agent or third party, please reach out to them to make changes to your trip.
Your safety is always our main priority, but during this time, we've taken extra steps to ensure your health and wellbeing when you fly; including additional cleaning measures and changes to our airport procedures.
We follow strict cleaning procedures to disinfect our aircraft after every flight, and our entire fleet is equipped with modern cabin air filtration systems that remove more than 99% of airborne microbes.
Bacoban is used to clean every aircraft arriving in Abu Dhabi, which destroys the Covid-19 virus and other impurities. It remains effective for 10 days, preventing recontamination of surfaces if an infected passenger has travelled on a flight.
Watch our team in action:
We’re receiving a very high volume of calls right now, and whilst our agents are working as hard as they can, it may not be possible for them to answer your call.
But please don’t worry. You’ll find all of the information you need on etihad.com.
For the latest travel updates regarding COVID-19, please visit etihad.com/travelalerts.
If your trip has been affected by Covid-19, we've made it quick and simple to change your travel plans. You can rebook your flight before 30 June, or cancel and use the value towards your next trip.
Change my flight
If you’re due to fly before 30 June 2020, you can rebook your flight for free, or cancel and use the value towards your next trip.
The quickest and simplest way to rebook or change the date of your flight is to use our online form.
Please note that we are experiencing a very high volume of calls, so it will take us longer to answer you. We kindly ask that you refrain from calling unless your flight is scheduled with 48 hours.
Please get in touch in with the travel agent or third party who booked your trip. They should be able to change or cancel your booking straight away.
We’ve put additional cleaning measures in place both on board and on the ground.
Our ground-handling teams follow strict cleaning procedures to disinfect our aircraft after every flight, and all utensils and surfaces are sterilised.
Our aircraft are also fitted with High-Efficiency Particle Filters (HEPA), which renew the entire cabin's air every two to four minutes. These air filtration systems are very effective, eliminating more than 99.8% of all airborne microbes, including dust, germs and pathogens.
Watch our team in action
Yes. Please contact your travel agent to rebook your trip using Etihad Credit.
Yes. Etihad Credit gives you total flexibility to rebook your trip when and where you’d like. You can choose any destination within the Etihad network or even our extensive Etihad codeshare network.
Yes, you can still cancel the remainder of your journey, then make a new booking when you are ready. To use Etihad Credit, your ticket must be rebooked by 30 September 2020, for travel by April 2021.
No. The ticket can only be rebooked for the same person shown on the original ticket.
If you’d like to cancel your flight, all refunds will be subject to the conditions of your ticket. You’ll find these on your booking confirmation.
You can cancel your flight through Manage my boking. Fees may apply as per our normal fare rules.
Manage my boking.
Yes! As long as your flight was booked to travel between 1 March and 30 June 2020, you can still earn bonus miles. We’ll use the details you provide to enrol you, so you won’t need to do anything else.
If you’ve already submitted your request for Etihad Credit, you can still sign up and claim your bonus miles.
