The Abu Dhabi-based airline carried one million passengers in the first half of the year, with an average load factor of just 24.9%. Passenger revenue totalled $300 million, down 68% year on year, but cargo volumes were up 44%.

The airline’s cost-cutting produced a 27% saving, with overheads reduced by 22% and finance costs down 23%.

“As a result, the airline managed to rebuild its liquidity position to pre-pandemic levels,” it said.

Etihad is now operating 3,500 flights a month to 67 destinations, using 64 aircraft.

Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, said: “Every day, Etihad Airways is making up for lost ground. Despite the curveball of the Delta variant disrupting the global recovery in air travel, we have continued to ramp up operations and are today in a much better place than this time in 2020. 

“As soon as destinations are added to the Abu Dhabi green list or UAE travel corridors, we are seeing a three to six-fold jump in bookings in some cases, showing there is a tidal wave of demand waiting to be unleashed.”