Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has launched a new daily service between the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi and the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.

The inaugural flight EY28, took off this morning at 0220, from Abu Dhabi Airport. Staff from Scotland that are based in Abu Dhabi celebrated the launch alongside Mazen Mohammed Al Misery, Nedal Mahmmod Al Badan and Mohammed Noweed Arshad, bagpipers from the Abu Dhabi Police Band.

Edinburgh is Etihad Airways’ first Scottish destination, and its third departure point from the UK, alongside triple-daily flights from London Heathrow and double-daily flights from Manchester.

The new route will be operated with a two-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering a total of 22 seats in Business Class and 240 seats in Economy Class. It will be a daily service with  connections onward to vital destinations for the Scottish economy in the Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Asia and Australia.