Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, the UAE's national carrier, is expecting to restore its normal schedule in 24 hours after severe fog disrupted its flight operations yesterday.

Following a major restructuring of operations overnight, including cancellations of 20 flights, aircraft congestion at Abu Dhabi has eased, with many disrupted services departing and delayed inbound services arriving in the UAE capital, said the airline.
 
In addition, the rebooking of many Etihad Airways passengers on later flights, or their transfer to other airlines, has helped ease the pressure on Abu Dhabi International Airport, while the cancellation or deferral of flights around the network has provided more pilots and cabin crew to operate rescheduled services, it said.

"The main focus for it today is to provide flights for the passengers still stranded in Abu Dhabi and other ports around the network following yesterday’s extraordinary disruption," said the statement.

Passengers who are able to defer their travel to, from, or through Abu Dhabi, up to and including January 6, are being encouraged to rebook flights through the airline’s global contact centres, details of which can be found at etihad.com/contacts, with the airline waiving normal cancellation and refund fees during this period.

Etihad Airways continues to deploy additional staff to Abu Dhabi International Airport to assist passengers, and during the past 24 hours has booked more than 2,000 hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi to accommodate guests affected by the disruptions, it said  

Passengers have been advised to contact the Etihad Airways Contact Centre on +971 (0) 2 599 0000 or visit etihad.com/flightstatus for more information on the status of flights.  - TradeArabia News Service