ETIHAD Airways has hailed its strongest operational performance to date, after carrying a record number of passengers and cargo in 2014.
The national airline of the United Arab Emirates, due to start its first ever direct service from Scotland with flights between Edinburgh and Abu Dhabi in June, said nearly 14.8 million passengers flew with Etihad last year, up 23 per cent on last year.
Figures show Etihad carried more than 74 per cent of the 19.9m passengers who travelled through Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2014.
James Hogan, president and chief executive, said: "Our business model, which focuses on organic network growth, code share partnerships and equity investments in other airlines, continued to yield positive results in 2014 and surpassed our double-digit targets for passenger and cargo growth."
Etihad added 10 destinations to its route network in 2014, including services to Medina, Jaipur, Los Angeles and Zurich in the first half, and Perth, Rome, Yerevan, Phuket, San Francisco and Dallas in the second. In addition, IT increased flight frequencies on 23 existing routes.
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