The UAE national airline Etihad Airways on Wednesday commenced daily operations to the north Indian city of Jaipur from its hub in Abu Dhabi.

A traditional lamp lighting ceremony greeted the disembarking passengers at Jaipur to celebrate the new service and the airline’s tenth destination in India.

Craig Thomas, Etihad Airways’ regional general manager for Asia Pacific North and Indian subcontinent, said: "The addition of the Jaipur service reinforces Etihad’s commitment to the Indian subcontinent. We are confident that the new flights will continue the strong passenger growth between India and the UAE."

“The new service will provide travellers from Jaipur with seamless connections to the Gulf region and Middle East, as well as Africa, Europe and North America, via our Abu Dhabi hub,” he stated.  

Known as the pink city for its pink-painted cityscape, Jaipur is the capital and the largest city, of the state of Rajasthan.

Renowned for its distinct heritage and landscape, the city has witnessed a 70 per cent increase in tourist arrivals during the past 10 years. It is a modern yet traditional city offering the ideal gateway to ancient, cultural and historical sites within the state.  

Jaipur ranks as the country’s eighth largest economy fuelled by textiles, gems and jewellery, agro-processing, automotive , and mineral-based industries.  

Neerja Bhatia, the general manager – India, Etihad Airways, said: "Jaipur is the perfect addition to our growing network of destinations. The city is a widely recognised premium destination attracting leisure and business travellers from around the world. It also known for hosting many international cultural events, including the renowned Jaipur Literature Festival."

“With the addition of the new Jaipur flights, to our existing Delhi services, we now fly to two destinations in the world-renowned Golden Triangle, offering our guests more choice and convenient travel options,” she added.

Etihad’s new daily service will be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration, featuring 16 Pearl Business Class seats and 120 Coral Economy Class seats.

The flight EY208 will take off from Abu Dhabi daily at 12.20am and land in Jaipur at 5.05am. On return the flight EY207 will leave Jaipur at 5.50am and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 7.50am.

With the addition of Jaipur, Etihad now serves a total of 10 Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, New Delhi and Trivandrum.-TradeArabia News Service