Etihad Airways has marked another milestone in its record year of growth, launching four inaugural routes to Tunis, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, and Hong Kong within three consecutive days. The new services further strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position as a hub and gateway to the UAE, supporting inbound tourism and trade while delivering nearly 45% of the UAE’s total aviation growth this year. As Etihad continues to expand its network, the airline is adding thousands of new seats to and from Abu Dhabi, making it easier for travellers from Africa and Asia to experience the city’s cultural landmarks, pristine beaches, luxury resorts, and year-round calendar of events. The routes also give UAE residents and visitors more choice for travel across key leisure and business destinations.

Emirates has invested AED 85 million to install more than 200 biometrics-enabled cameras across Terminal 3, Dubai International (DXB) – allowing more customers to pass through Check-In, Immigration, Boarding Gates, Lounges and board the aircraft, simply by facial recognition, with a quick and easy registration on Emirates app. Eliminating the need to take out a passport and boarding pass at various points in the airport, the new biometrics initiative is a collaboration between Emirates and the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigner Affairs Dubai (GDRFAD), that reduces processing time significantly for all registered customers. The powerful cameras can recognise the biometric profile of a customer from one metre away, allowing customers to walk swiftly through areas where they used to have to pause and show documents.

Finnair, Finland’s flag carrier, will offer customers a record number of 25 weekly flights next winter between its home hub, Helsinki, and Thailand. The Nordic airline will resume direct flights to Krabi in southern Thailand and increase frequencies to Bangkok. The flag carrier will also continue to operate its ever popular route to Phuket, showing its commitment to the Asian market.

Turkish Airlines, the airline that flies to more countries than any other in the world relaunched its flights between Istanbul and Sulaymaniyah which were stopped on April 2023. Already possessing a strong network in the country with flights to Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Kirkuk, and Najaf, flag carrier once again connects Iraq to the world with a total of six gateways. Starting on 2 November 2025, flights between İstanbul Airport and Sulaymaniyah International Airport are going to be operated with four weekly frequencies reciprocally on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On 2026 Summer Schedule, flights are set to be increased to daily as of 27 March 2026.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for September 2025 global passenger demand with the following highlights: Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 3.6% compared to September 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 3.7% year-on-year. The September load factor was 83.4% (-0.1 ppt compared to September 2024).

As part of the landmark Joint Venture agreement between Etihad Airways and Ethiopian Airlines, Etihad Guest and ShebaMiles have launched a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of either carrier to earn and redeem miles across the networks in their respective loyalty programme. The partnership has launched following Etihad’s inaugural flight to Addis Ababa on 8 October. Etihad Guest members and ShebaMiles members can both now earn miles when travelling across either airline’s extensive global networks, unlocking greater travel opportunities for passengers of both airlines. Etihad Guest Miles can be redeemed on flights, worldwide hotel stays and holidays, or a huge variety of products from the Etihad Guest Reward Shop. ShebaMiles members can redeem their earned miles across a range of ShebaMiles programme benefits.