Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, on Monday announced the launch of a four times per week service from Abu Dhabi to Yerevan from 2 July 2014.

The UAE flag carrier will operate a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Pearl Business Class and 120 Coral Economy Class seats, offering a total of 1,088 seats per week.

The new flights will cater for the significant and growing demand for air travel between the UAE and Armenia.  They will also provide better access to and from Armenia for millions of Armenian nationals living around the world, particularly in the US, which is home to a vast Armenian Diaspora, the company said in a statement.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The launch of Etihad Airways’ flights to Yerevan is consistent with our strategy of targeting areas of strong growth in emerging markets.

“Etihad Airways will be the only full-service commercial airline from the Gulf region to serve Yerevan. Business and leisure travellers out of Armenia will have great opportunities to seamlessly connect over our Abu Dhabi hub to the entire Gulf network and key North American destinations.”

“The new Yerevan service will contribute to the development of tourism in Armenia and strengthen the already strong trade and tourism ties between the UAE and Armenia.”