Effective July 1st, Etihad Airways will operate the Airbus A380 on its daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Seoul.

The South Korean capital’s Incheon airport now joins London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, New York JFK and Sydney as a destination served by the airline’s flag-ship aircraft.

Robin Kamark, chief commercial officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “Since launching our services to Seoul Incheon in December 2010, the route has proved tremendously successful and we have welcomed over 1.2 million guests on our flights to and from Korea since then.

“This reinforces the strong ties between our two countries, and the importance Etihad continues to place on the Korean market.

“The introduction of our award-winning Airbus A380 will provide our guests with the most revolutionary inflight experience.”

The UAE and South Korea are major trade partners and the UAE is the largest importer of South Korean goods in the Middle East and Africa and the value of trade between the two countries is valued at approximately US$ 15 billion annually.

It is estimated that over 200,000 Korean tourists now visit the country each year.