OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 July 2009 was announced, that a new Kyiv-Abu Dhabi-Kyiv flight will be operating starting September 25th, 2009.

UIA`s Kyiv-Abu-Dhabi-Kyiv flight is the first direct flight from Ukraine to the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Flights will be operated in code-sharing with the national UAE airline - Etihad Airways.

"Ukraine International is very pleased to commence code share services with Etihad Airways", stated Yuri Miroshnikov, Ukraine International Airlines President. "This will not only strengthen links between Ukraine and the UAE but also open up a range of new destinations for Ukrainians over the Abu Dhabi gateway."

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “Etihad Airways codeshare strategy continues to develop and we are delighted to announce our fifteenth codeshare deal. This latest agreement, with Ukraine International Airlines, will help to link Ukrainian expatriate communities around the world, as well as build business links between the Ukraine and the UAE.”

Kyiv-Abu Dhabi flight is conveniently connecting with UIA’s code-sharing flights with Etihad to Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Johannesburg, Bahrain, Kuwait and Muscat,. UIA passengers will be able to get there by the flight which is the most direct and quickest available. The connection time is 1.30 on average. Abu Dhabi-Kyiv flight is perfectly connecting with UIA`s and their code-share partners` flights to Lvov, Ivano-Frankovsk, Kharkov, Lugansk, Uzhgorod, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa and Simferopol. Passengers will also enjoy the convenience of the connections with Amsterdam, Vienna and Paris flights.

The new service starts with twice weekly flights (on Mondays and Tuesdays), with frequencies increasing as the market develops.

UIA also operates direct scheduled flights to Dubai.

Starting September 25, 2009 the Airline`s passengers will be able to get from Ukraine to UAE 6 times a week.