ABU DHABI — ETIHAD Airways is expecting to restore its normal schedule within 24 hours after severe fog disrupted flight operations Saturday. Following a major restructuring of operations overnight, including cancellations of 20 flights, aircraft congestion at Abu Dhabi has eased, with many disrupted services departing and delayed inbound services arriving in the UAE capital. In addition, the rebooking of many Etihad Airways passengers on later flights, or their transfer to other airlines, has helped ease the pressure on Abu Dhabi International Airport, while the cancellation or deferral of flights around the network has provided more pilots and cabin crew to operate rescheduled services. The main focus today is to provide flights for the passengers still stranded in Abu Dhabi and other ports around the network following Saturday's extraordinary disruption. Passengers who are able to defer their travel to, from, or through Abu Dhabi, up to and including Tuesday (Jan. 6), are being encouraged to rebook flights through the airline's global contact centers, details of which can be found at etihad.com/contacts, with the airline waiving normal cancellation and refund fees during this period. Etihad Airways continues to deploy additional staff to Abu Dhabi International Airport to assist passengers, and during the past 24 hours has booked more than 2,000 hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi to accommodate guests affected by the disruptions. Etihad Airways apologizes for the serious inconvenience that these events, which have been beyond our control, have caused. — SG
