Etihad has full support of state owner, will resume flights in May: CEO

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has the full support of its state shareholder as it plans a partial resumption of passenger flights from May 1, its chief executive Tony Douglas said on Thursday.

“The cumulative gains achieve by our ongoing transformation, and the unwavering support of our shareholder, has left us in a relatively strong position to withstand any instability,” Douglas said in a statement.

Etihad, which has lost $5.6 billion since 2016, halted passenger flights last month and has reduced staff wages by up to 50% for the month of April.

It said it plans to operate a reduced schedule from May 1 until June 30 with the intention of gradually returning to normal operations as the global situation improves.