MUMBAI:
In the week leading up to Diwali, guests flying Etihad Airways had a surprise in store for them at the Abu Dhabi Airport. Marking one of the India’s biggest festivals, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, celebrated with an act of sharing, inspired by the timeless tradition of exchanging gifts and sweets this season.
At the airline’s home, Etihad Airways presented guests with its ‘Share the Light’ Diwali box at the immigration counters, check in counters and arrival area of the Abu Dhabi Airport. This unconventional festive box, featuring the traditional ‘laddoos’ was designed to light up when the ‘mithai’ was shared, thus encouraging guests to share the sweets with family, friends, fellow travellers and even a stranger.
Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is widely celebrated across the country and sees millions attend prayers and events during the five-day festival. Completing 15 years of service to India and having over thousands of Indian travellers arriving in Abu Dhabi daily, the airline chose to make each guest feel closer to home by celebrating their most loved festival.
Since launching operations to the Indian sub-continent in September 2004, Etihad Airways has carried more than 16.5 million passengers on its Indian routes. Today, the airline operates 159 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram – and through its Abu Dhabi hub, the airline connects each of these gateways to international destinations throughout the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Africa.
