Etihad Airways plans to launch a twice-weekly service between Abu Dhabi and Rabat, the capital of Morocco, early next year.

Providing the only scheduled air link between the United Arab Emirates and Rabat, the new service will commence January 15, 2016 and will be operated on Wednesdays and Fridays, using an A340-500 aircraft configured to carry a total of 240 passengers, with 12 in first class, 28 in business class, and 200 in economy class.

The new service is Etihad Airways’ second destination in Morocco and complements its existing daily service to Casablanca.

“Our service to Casablanca has performed strongly since it was launched in June 2006 and I am delighted to build on this success with the introduction of the additional service to Rabat,” says Etihad Airways’ president and CEO James Hogan. “The new service provides passengers with more choices and two-way connectivity between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, and onwards over our hub in Abu Dhabi to key destinations across our global network in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia.”

Etihad Airways is able to extend its reach across North Africa through its codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, providing passengers with direct flights from Casablanca to destinations throughout Morocco, including Agadir, Marrakech, and Tangier.

The airline also operates scheduled services to nine other destinations in Africa, including Johannesburg, Khartoum, Casablanca, Cairo, Lagos, Nairobi, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam (from December 1, 2015), and Mahé in the Seychelles. www.etihad.com