Etihad Airways Launches First-Ever Abu Dhabi–Palma de Mallorca Service with A321LR

Etihad Airways launched its first-ever flights to Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI) during the week of June 10–16, 2026, connecting Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) to the Balearic Islands capital three times weekly with first-class-equipped Airbus A321LR aircraft configured with 160 seats.

The launch is notable in a wider Gulf context: Simple Flying observed that Palma de Mallorca has never had Dubai flights either, making Abu Dhabi the first Gulf hub to operate a direct link to the island. In 2026, flydubai serves Krakow from Dubai but has never served Palma, underscoring the gap Etihad is filling.

Palma is one of Europe's most popular summer leisure destinations, attracting approximately 29 million visitors annually with strong demand from Germany, the UK, Scandinavia, and increasingly the Middle East. The A321LR's range and seat economics make it suitable for seasonal leisure routes from Abu Dhabi, avoiding the need for widebody lift on a market where peak demand is concentrated in summer months.

The Palma route launched alongside first-ever Krakow service in the same week, plus resumptions of Damascus and Zanzibar City, as part of Etihad's plan to add or restore ten routes from its hub between June and December 2026.

The launch was confirmed independently by Simple Flying's weekly routes alert covering June 10–16, and Aviation Week's rolling updates for W/C June 15.

Sources

• https://simpleflying.com/notable-airline-routes-212
• https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/routes-networks-latest-rolling-daily-updates-wc-june-15-2026