ABU DHABI — Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, congratulated the leadership and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the 90th National Day of the Kingdom.

To mark the occasion, the airline created an infographic to showcase the flight path of the special liveried "Choose Saudi Arabia" Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner since its first flight to Riyadh on Sept. 23, 2019.

Ahmed Al Qubaisi, senior vice president government, international and communications, Etihad Aviation Group, said, "The Saudi Arabian-inspired livery celebrates the UAE’s close historical ties with the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is a key market and we enjoy a special relationship with Saudia through our codeshare agreement and an extensive maintenance program through our Etihad Engineering division."

"With travel restrictions being eased and borders reopening, subject to the lifting of international restrictions, we look forward to resuming flights to the Kingdom in October and once again, connecting Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam."

The iconic aircraft, flying with latticework design in the Kingdom’s national colors and Islamic calligraphic and Mashrabiya, traveled to 46 destinations, carried around 74,000 guests and transported more than 4,500 tons of cargo in 421 flights.

In 2019, Etihad operated 8,404 passenger flights and carried 1.3 million guests between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. — WAM