Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it will start flying to Guangzhou, Guangdong province starting Oct 10, becoming the first international airline to operate long-haul passenger services to all of the top three Chinese gateways since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the twice-weekly passenger service to Guangzhou will use a Boeing B777 aircraft. The new route is added to existing services to Shanghai, which resumed in July 2020 and Beijing, which resumed in June, the company said.

With the adding of new services, Etihad is expected to operate four weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and China: two services per week to Guangzhou and weekly services to Beijing and Shanghai.

"Besides being a modern and rapidly growing city itself, Guangzhou has excellent connections with the Greater Bay Area. Our twice-weekly service will further address the huge demand for passenger travel between the UAE and China, as well as provide new cargo capacity," said Martin Drew, Etihad's senior vice-president of global sales and cargo.

Meanwhile, Dubai-based Emirates said starting Oct 2, it will increase its current twice-weekly roundtrip flights between Dubai and Guangzhou to four times weekly, and all of the flights will be operated by the double-decker A380 aircraft.

"We look forward to a comprehensive victory in the fight against the pandemic, so that people can gradually get back to their normal lives, and more people can arrange travel freely," said Adam Li, vice-president of Emirates' China unit.