Etihad starts Abu Dhabi–Red Sea International flights on 4 October

Etihad Airways will begin year-round service from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport (RSI) on 4 October 2026, with one weekly Airbus A320 flight at launch rising to twice weekly from 25 October, the airline said in an 8 September press release confirmed on etihad.com and carried by Zawya and WAM/Gulf News.

The carrier frames the route as a leisure addition of a little over three hours, placing RSI inside the Tabuk Province coastal destination so guests can reach hotels soon after landing. Etihad says the Red Sea becomes its sixth Saudi destination alongside Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina and Al Qassim, and that network passengers can connect via Abu Dhabi—including from the Gulf and the Indian subcontinent—with an optional Abu Dhabi Stopover before continuing.

Published schedule detail (local times) lists EY621 AUH–RSI Sundays from 4 October (09:55–12:05) and EY622 return (14:00–18:05), expanding to Thursday and Sunday from late October on the A320 configured with eight Business and 150 Economy seats. CEO Antonoaldo Neves is quoted on the short-haul leisure pitch; Hada does not invent load-factor or fare figures beyond the airline’s own materials.

Why it matters for Travel desks: a hard 4 October go-live into Saudi’s Red Sea tourism product—actionable for route, hotel and MICE desks two days before the first Sunday service, and a concrete UAE–Saudi leisure corridor beyond Umrah and business gateways.

Sources: Etihad press page, 8 Sep 2026; Zawya PR reprint with schedule table; Gulf News/WAM.

Watch next: whether frequency grows beyond twice-weekly and how RSI hotel inventory keeps pace with Gulf feeder demand.