Etihad Airways said it carried 1.5 million passengers in May and saw its passenger load factor average out at 84% throughout the period, as it announced its preliminary traffic statistics for the month.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: "We achieved a 38% year-to-date increase in passengers, underscoring our strong positive growth trajectory, and our YTD passenger count has reached 7.2 million, meaning we've already welcomed two million more passengers this year than the same period of 2023.

“This contributed to maintaining a healthy YTD load factor of 85% against a considerable increase in capacity against the same period in 2023.

“Our rolling 12-month passenger numbers, to the end of May 2024, now stand at just over 16 million.

“Our operating fleet size has risen by 15 aircraft year-on-year to 90, helping to fuel our growth.

“In May, after intense months of activity involving teams across the airline, we brought the first of the six A321neos expected in 2024 into operation. These aircraft further boost our growing network and frequencies, and deliver a 20% fuel burn and CO2 emissions advantage, underling our commitment to modern, more efficient aircraft.” – TradeArabia News Service