Etihad Airways marked its 10th anniversary of scheduled flight operations between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu. The company honored their key stakeholders in Nepal to commemorate a decade of partnership.
Etihad Airways launched its schedule flights between UAE and Nepal on 28 October 2007 with four services a week. The frequency rose to two flights a day in 2013 due to the escalating flow of Nepali workers and tourists.
Diplomats and government and aviation officials were joined by corporate and travel industry partners, along with local media and the airline’s Kathmandu-based employees as Etihad Airways recognised their loyalty and support at two events in the Nepali capital.
Saeed Hamdan Al Naqbi, UAE Ambassador to Nepal, was the guest of honour at the anniversary events held at the Hotel Annapurna in Kathmandu. Dignitaries included His Excellency Andrei Budnik, Ambassador of Russia to Nepal; His Excellency Yves Andre Carmona, Ambassador of France to Nepal; and Dipak Adhikari, Chief of Protocol at the Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The carrier has served more than 1.2 million travelers between the two capital cities since 2007. Both corporate and leisure travellers have used the services between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu and connecting cities across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America. These include Amsterdam, Cairo, Chicago, Dammam, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Milan, New York, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Toronto and Washington.
Al Naqbi said that he was extremely honored to be appointed Ambassador of the UAE to Nepal and would like to extend his sincere gratitude to Etihad Airways for marking 10 years of flying to Nepal.
“I hope many travellers from across Nepal continue to fly with Etihad Airways and take advantage of the numerous destinations that the UAE’s national airline flies to, including our home city of Abu Dhabi and its many tourist attractions”, he added.
Etihad has been promoting the tourism industry of Nepal with active involvement in community projects. These include supporting the 60th anniversary of the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon to the summit of Mount Everest to spread the message of a cleaner and greener environment; Etihad Airways employees engaging with and visiting orphanages, centres for physically challenged children, and homes for the elderly; transporting humanitarian relief aid and rescue workers following the deadly Nepal earthquake in 2015; flying surgeons from the UK to Nepal to help leprosy victims; and the donation of Etihad Guest Miles by members of the airline’s loyalty programme towards the purchase of goods for those in need.
