Etihad Airways has announced plans to launch additional flights to the Maldives during the peak summer period.

Between 1 July and 17 September 2017, the airline will operate four weekly flights on the Abu Dhabi-Malé route, in addition to its existing daily flights.

Operating as a late night service every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the new flights will be served using a single-aisle Airbus A320 aircraft with 136 seats.

Etihad said the services would provide additional connectivity to and from destinations in Europe and the Gulf region, including Edinburgh, Jeddah, Madrid, Moscow and Zurich.

Over the past five years, Etihad has carried more than 450,000 passengers to and from the Maldives.