Etihad Airways will become to the first airline from the Gulf region to fly to Belarus when the Abu Dhabi based carrier launches its twice weekly flights to the country’s capital, Minsk, next month on August 5.
The new air link is anticipated to boost significantly the trade links and investment ties between the UAE and Belarus, with the volume of trade between the two countries currently standing at more than $30- $40 million (Dh110-150 million) per year.
It also follows talks held in Abu Dhabi last year between His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and president Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive said, “To make history as the first airline from the Gulf region to fly to Belarus is a great honour for Etihad Airways. We are extremely excited at the prospect of helping to strengthen further the trade ties between the two countries through the launch of our new Minsk service.”
The announcement of the launch date coincides with a planned visit to Belarus by a high level delegation of business leaders from the UAE to examine opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries.
His Excellency Vladimir Sulimsky, ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in the UAE said, “We look forward to welcoming Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, to our capital city. There is a real appetite for business between our two countries which is sure to be boosted by the launch of this new, non stop service between our two capital cities.”
Etihad will serve Minsk with one of its new Airbus A319 aircraft every Tuesday and Thursday, and a third weekly flight will be added every Saturday from October 2008.