Air Berlin is to drop its daily service between Stuttgart and Abu Dhabi from May 31.
Flights launched in December 2014 (see news June 2014), complementing the carrier’s services from Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf to the emirate.
The route offered over 40 onward connections at Abu Dhabi, thanks to Air Berlin’s partnership with Etihad Airways, which owns an almost 30 per cent stake in the German carrier.
But Air Berlin has confirmed flights will cease at the end of May “as part of network and schedule adjustments for the summer 2016 season”.
The carrier said that “We regularly review our operating schedules to ensure we are utilising our aircraft to capitalise on traffic flows and to meet market demands”, adding that “We will continue to evaluate opportunities in the future”.
Air Berlin continues to offer two daily flights from Berlin to Abu Dhabi, as well as two daily services from Dusseldorf in conjunction with Etihad (which also offers twice-daily flights from Frankfurt and Munich to Abu Dhabi).
Affected passengers are being offered a refund, or the option of rebooking onto connecting flights via Berlin or Dusseldorf.
Mark Caswell
