Etihad Airways launched flights between Abu Dhabi and Moscow. The five flights a week service to the Russian capital has been followed by a new service to the Kazakhstan commercial capital Almaty, which started on Tuesday 2 December, bringing the total number of destinations served by the carrier to 50.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said, “Russia is an increasingly important destination from the UAE, as the countries increase their trading relationships. Since we announced this route earlier in the year, we have seen strong interest in it, both from UAE travellers and from customers transitting through our Abu Dhabi hub from cities around the world.”

Spanning no less than 10 time zones, Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of surface area. Russia’s economic power lies in its huge natural resources, particularly oil and gas which has brought rapid economic growth to the country.

Moscow is the country's political, economic, financial, educational and transportation centre. The city is a major economic centre and is home to the largest number of billionaires in the world. Many multi-national corporations have branches and offices in the city.

The flight to Moscow will be operated by a two-class Airbus A320 configured to carry 140 passengers with 20 seats in business class and 120 in economy class.