ABU DHABI - Etihad Airways last night touched down in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state in eastern India. The airline has made its much-anticipated return to the city with a total of seven weekly nonstop services, once again connecting Kolkata with the world through Abu Dhabi.

The first flight on the new service, EY256, departed Abu Dhabi with a full load of passengers at 13:50 local time on 26th March and touched down at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport last night at 20:10 local time.

Upon arrival in Kolkata, passengers were welcomed with a cake-cutting ceremony and a celebration attended by Etihad and Kolkata Airport Executives.

The return flight, EY257, departed Kolkata at 21:05 local time on 26th March, landing in Abu Dhabi shortly after midnight.

Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer at Etihad Airways, said, “Riding on the resurgence of outbound travel from India, we are delighted to resume daily flights to Kolkata, a key cultural and commercial hub in the Indian subcontinent.

"Re-establishing this vital air link with East India will support the growing demand from travellers in and around the region, offering them easy access to Abu Dhabi and connectivity to our global network alongside a world-class flying experience. We have been very impressed with our initial demand, which reaffirms our strategy to return to this key market.”

The flights will be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, with eight seats in Business Class and 150 in Economy.

Etihad passengers flying from Kolkata to the United States can benefit from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Abu Dhabi International Airport, the only US immigration preclearance service in the region that allows passengers to clear US immigration while they are still in Abu Dhabi.