Travellers departing or connecting through Abu Dhabi will be subject to a new "Passenger Facilities Charge" from June 30.
The Dhs35 (US$9.5) fee will be incorporated into the flight tickets issued to customers. As seen in the image above, Etihad Airways has already begun applying the tax on fares for travel from the end of the month.
However, passengers who had already booked tickets prior to the announcement will not be charged the fee.
Abu Dhabi is the third city in the UAE to institute a departure tax. Dubai was the first to announce the levying of the new fee back in March, and a similar announcement soon followed from Sharjah in April.
In other news, Etihad Airways is celebrating its first anniversary of service to Hong Kong by launching a sale promotion that ends tomorrow. Travellers departing from Hong Kong can save up to 60 per cent on economy and business class fares for flights covering 30 destinations, including Milan, Munich, Madrid, Istanbul and Edinburgh.
Economy fares start at HK$3,484 (US$449) while business class tickets cost HK$15,385 (US$1,982) and up, inclusive of taxes and surcharges. Open-jaw travel is allowed, giving travellers greater flexibility when planning their journeys.
For more information, visit etihad.com
Clement Huang
