Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a new airline set up by Air Arabia and Etihad Airways, has officially launched services. The new airline’s inaugural flight to Alexandria, Egypt took off on July 14, 2020.
The new airline’s first flight took off from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), the UAE, at approximately 3pm local time. The A320 is heading towards Alexandria Borg El Arab Airport (HBE), Egypt. The return flight is scheduled later in the day.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s first flight can be tracked on flight radars under the number ADY401.
Previous to the launch, the low-costs’ co-owner Etihad Airways said it would place its own code EY on the first/inaugural four services. The 1350/1351 was due to mark flights between Abu Dhabi and Alexandria (and back), while 1352/1353 ‒ between Abu Dhabi and Sohag, Egypt, Etihad announced on July 9.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi currently has one aircraft in its fleet. The 7-year-old Airbus A320-200, registered as A6-AUB, was delivered to the low-cost carrier a day prior to the inaugural flight, on July 13, planespotters.net data indicates. Previously, the aircraft belonged to Air Arabia.
Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is a joint venture between state-owned Etihad Airways and the Air Arabia group. The first low-cost airline to operate from Abu Dhabi received its Air Operating Certificate (AOC) in April 2020.
Having previously planned routes towards Eastern Europe, Pakistan and India, the air carrier will only fly to Egypt at the beginning, as other regions currently remain unreachable due to the coronavirus pandemic.