Condor shelves plan for long-awaited Abu Dhabi flights this summer
April 12, 2026
Germany’s Condor has shelved its plans to launch service to Abu Dhabi this summer as the conflict in the Gulf continues to impact passenger demand. The changes are reflected on the carrier’s booking website which shows both its upcoming daily Airbus A320neo rotation between Berlin and Abu Dhabi as being shelved temporarily, as well as its daily Airbus A330neo service from Frankfurt.
Both are slated to begin in time for the aviation winter season that begins at the end of October. The expansion to Abu Dhabi was announced last year as the carrier expanded its global codeshare network by partnering with Southwest Airlines and Etihad Airways. The German carrier hoped to leverage the latter partnership for its new Abu Dhabi flights.
The new routes were also meant to complement its existing operation to Dubai, which are still active but fly winter-seasonally. No changes have been announced on its Dubai routes yet.
Condor’s Abu Dhabi launch is delayed
In November, Condor revealed that it would launch a daily connection from both Berlin and Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi from summer 2026. The Frankfurt flights – operating with a larger A330neo – were meant to commence first, beginning on 1 May 2026. The Berlin flights would operate with a smaller narrowbody A320neo, launching on 15 June.
This has supposedly been delayed to winter. The carrier now hopes to begin Berlin flights on 25 October and Frankfurt the following day.
This has not been reflected in the airline’s own booking website which lists Abu Dhabi as a destination it does not serve.
However, these changes are reflected in partner Etihad’s booking engine through which both Condor flights can be booked. Etihad already flies between Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt, offering two daily flights. It does not serve Berlin directly.
Condor was not immediately available for comment.
Why does Condor want to serve Abu Dhabi?
Condor already flies to Dubai from both Berlin and Stuttgart. These routes remain in schedules and on booking engines for the upcoming winter season.
| Route | Aircraft | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Stuttgart-Dubai | Airbus A320neo | 4x weekly |
| Berlin-Dubai | Airbus A320neo | Daily |
The company’s Stuttgart and Berlin flights rely primarily on point-to-point traffic. It has chosen not to operate on the Frankfurt-Dubai leg, therefore avoiding its primary hub in flights to the UAE thus far. Emirates already operates three daily flights on the segment, in addition to Lufthansa’s daily operation.
Serving Abu Dhabi changes things for Condor, notably in light of its codeshare agreement. It hoped to leverage the Gulf city for Etihad connections across West and broader Asia, Africa, and Australia. With the Gulf’s dwindling role as a connecting hub, it remains to be seen whether that ambition will remain intact this winter.
Long-term impacts of the war
The current Iran war has had both short and long-term impacts on the aviation industry at large. Perhaps most symbolically, Qatar Airways has been forced to ground part of its widebody fleet including all its Airbus A380s for two months as demand for flights to, from and via its Doha hub plummets.
British Airways has also made significant adjustments to its West Asian network. Flights to Jeddah are now suspended this year, and its route to Abu Dhabi will now only resume next winter. It is also significantly reducing frequencies on many of its other routes to the Gulf, shifting capacity to Kenya and India.
Other previously reported changes include Virgin Atlantic’s decision to cut its Riyadh route indefinitely, while Singapore Airlines is delaying its (re)launch to the Saudi Arabian capital by a few months until September.
Featured image: MarcelX42 / Wikimedia Commons
