Etihad Airways will operate double daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney from 15 December 2026, adding four weekly services to its current 10 and bringing total capacity to more than 5,000 seats weekly in each direction.
New service uses A350 across both daily departures
Both daily flights will operate on the Airbus A350-1000, with Business class featuring a private space with sliding door, 79-inch lie-flat bed, wireless charging and an 18.5-inch screen, and Economy offering 17.4-inch-wide seats with 13.3-inch 4K touchscreens and Bluetooth audio. High-speed Wi-Fi is available throughout the aircraft.
The new schedule sees EY450 depart Abu Dhabi at 09:55 arriving Sydney 06:30 the next day, and EY454 depart Abu Dhabi at 21:05 arriving Sydney 17:45 the next day, with matching return services EY451 and EY455 from Sydney.
Second flight expands stopover and connection options
Etihad chief revenue and commercial officer Arik De said the additional frequency gave travellers more flexibility across the network.
“Double daily flights give our guests even greater flexibility when travelling between Australia and Etihad’s growing global network,” De said, noting the extra service also made Abu Dhabi stopovers more accessible.
The second daily departure lines up with same-day connections across Europe, including Zurich, Geneva, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, London, Manchester and Dublin. Guests connecting through Abu Dhabi can access a complimentary one- or two-night hotel stay through the Abu Dhabi Stopover programme, which now includes Al Ain. Onward connections from Sydney are also available via Etihad’s interline partners Qantas, Jetstar and Air New Zealand.
Etihad has served Sydney since 2007 and also operates daily Boeing 787 services between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne.
