Calgarians looking to access the Middle East will have a new route to the region later this year.
Etihad Airways will connect travellers with direct flights to Abu Dhabi four times a week starting Nov. 3.
Officials call it a way to improve access for visitors and business travellers.
They also say it’s a path to new commercial opportunities for Alberta.
“Our modelling shows there is a big demand for it because of that onward connectivity, and that also feeds into what we are, which is a hub that connects all of Western Canada,” said Chris Dinsdale, Calgary Airports CEO.
Dinsdale believes if the planes on the route are full, it will be a success.
“It’s also how much cargo traffic is going along with that. How much investments are going there? What’s the business travel looking like? Because if the business travel is healthy, then that means deals are being made,” said Dinsdale.
Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the major carrier for Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation hubs.
“Abu Dhabi and Calgary are both global centres of energy and innovation and expertise,” said Lena Havia, with Etihad Airways.
“There’s also significant demand from the visit-family-and-relatives sector given the large Indian and Middle Eastern communities in Calgary.”
The new Calgary flights will “deepen its presence in North America” and strengthen Alberta’s direct access to other global destinations.
“This is an exciting announcement for us, bringing together two remarkable places. For Canadian travellers, it opens direct access to Abu Dhabi’s rich culture and year-round experiences, while guests from the UAE and across our network gain seamless access to Calgary and the natural beauty of Western Canada,” said Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad Airways’ chief executive officer.
“It is a route designed to stimulate two-way tourism and deepen ties between our regions.”
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Tourism Calgary says this route will help its goal of expanding tourism to the city.
“We’re becoming a much more global city,” said Jeff Hessel, senior vice-president of marketing.
“We want to double tourism revenues to $6 billion by 2035, and the community is really in, matching what we’re trying to do here.”
The province says it exported $248 million in goods to the UAE in 2024, with much of that being re-exported to other markets in the region.
Alberta imported about $55.4 million in goods from the UAE in the same time period.
“Trade and immigration create a direct pipeline to the UAE, a place that we’ve seen a lot of opportunity for investing in growth and trade,” said Jobs, Economy and Immigration Minister Joseph Schow.
“Whether it’s business travel, leisure travel, Alberta has what the rest of the world wants.”
The flights begin Nov. 3, four times weekly.
Flights will leave Abu Dhabi around 8:45 a.m., landing in Calgary at 12:20 p.m.
The return flights will leave Calgary at 6:05 p.m. and land in Abu Dhabi around 7 p.m. the following day.
Flight time is around 14 hours and will be one of Etihad Airways’ longest flights.
