Etihad Airways is to increase its services between Dublin and Abu Dhabi from July, doubling the number of flights each day.
The move follows an announcement last week by rival airline Emirates that it would double flights between Dublin and Dubai, giving travellers more links to the Far East, India, East and Southern Africa.
Etihad said the increase in its scheduled flights will add almost 9,000 seats each week between the United Arab Emirates and Ireland. It will also give better access to more than 45 destinations that Etihad flies to in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The move was welcomed by Dublin Airport Authority chief executive Kevin Toland and Minister for Transport and Tourism Leo Varadkar, who said the move increased the number of potential visitors to Ireland.
“Overall, there is a huge increase in airline capacity into Ireland this year which will help us to continue growing visitor numbers,” Mr Varadkar said.
