Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will launch non-stop daily flights to Madinah.

With the addition of the new service, which will start on Feb. 1, 2014, Etihad Airways will now offer 50 weekly flights to four destinations in Saudi Arabia which, along with Madinah, include Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and Madinah will be operated by an A320 aircraft fitted with 16 Pearl Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, offering a total 1,904 seats per week.

The new services are set to meet growing demand from Haj and Umrah travelers wishing to visit this holy city.

They will also allow maximum connectivity over Abu Dhabi for flights between Saudi Arabia and the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, GCC and Europe, as well as serving strong point to point traffic.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive officer, said: “We are delighted to announce the introduction of Madinah to the Etihad Airways’ global flight network. Saudi Arabia has always been a key market for Etihad Airways and Madinah is therefore an important strategic destination for the airline.

“Our new flights will cater to the Saudi Arabian population living in the UAE, as well as to the growing numbers of business and religious travelers looking to fly to the city.

The new service to Medina will be Etihad Airways’ ninth destination in the Arabian Peninsula, joining Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, and Sana’a.