Flight AZ854 touched down at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 7.55pm local time and was greeted by a traditional water canon salute.
Also greeting the flight were H.E. Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, H.E. Giorgio Starace, Italian Ambassador to the UAE, H. E. Ali Majed Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), and senior executives from Etihad Airways.
Alitalia are operating the new flights in conjunction with codeshare partner Etihad Airways. The launch of the new direct Rome-Abu Dhabi service follows last August’s announcement that the Italian carrier would fly four weekly return Airbus A330 services between the two capitals.
Welcoming the flight to Abu Dhabi International Airport, H. E. Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, said: “It is always a pleasure to see the relationship between the UAE and its friends growing into actual business ventures and economic cooperation. Alitalia’s decision to come to Abu Dhabi demonstrates the capital’s growing importance as a trade and tourism hub in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi is looking forward to further deepening such opportunities in ways which are beneficial to all parties.”
Flights from Abu Dhabi depart at 8:15am on Thursdays and Sundays, and at 2:25am on Mondays and Wednesdays. Flights from Rome depart at 9:45pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 11:15am on Tuesdays and Sundays.
The split schedule ensures maximum connectivity over Abu Dhabi International Airport – Etihad Airways’ hub – to codeshare destinations such as Bahrain, Muscat, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Melbourne and Sydney.
Equally, the new service will ensure efficient codeshare connectivity beyond Rome to the cities of Athens, Milan, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Venice and Zurich.
In addition to the codeshare with Alitalia, Etihad Airways has 40 other codeshare agreements in place with airlines across the world. Codeshare partnerships, along with equity acquisitions and organic growth, form the three pillars of Etihad Airways’ expansion plans.
