Australian Flight Data

Abu Dhabi to Sydney

United Arab Emirates · 310 months of data from Jan 1985 · Sydney to Abu Dhabi

Passengers
136,105
Abu Dhabi to Sydney, 12 months to May 2026
Both directions
269,626
including Sydney to Abu Dhabi
Load factor
91%
seats filled on this leg

Traffic: 12 months to May 2026

136,105 passengers flew Abu Dhabi to Sydney in the 12 months to May 2026, out of 269,626 on the route in both directions. Flights run about 91% full, much the same in both directions. This route has been reported for 26 years.

The route

Sydney Abu Dhabi

Distances are true from Sydney; the ring marks the distance to Abu Dhabi.

Flight numbers on this route

2 flight numbers currently scheduled from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. These are the numbers you book under.

Scheduled every day this week — 8 departures in all.

Etihad · 2 · Airbus A350-1000

EY450 · EY454

Current timetable as at 2026-09-06

Timetables change, and these carry no punctuality figures of their own — no on-time data is published for international flights at all. The passenger and load factor figures above cover the route, not any single flight number.

Passengers, 1985 to 2026

015,64731,294 May 2025Nov 2025May 2026
015,64731,294Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 May 2021Nov 2023May 2026
027,24054,479Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 May 2016Jun 2021May 2026
027,24054,479The pilots' dispute grounds domestic aviation — Aug 1989 Virgin Blue launches — Aug 2000 Tiger Airways Australia enters the market — Apr 2008 Volcanic ash cloud disrupts southern Australia — Jun 2011 Qantas grounds its entire fleet — Oct 2011 Skywest becomes Virgin Australia Regional Airlines — May 2013 Tigerair Australia stops flying — Feb 2020 COVID-19 border closures begin — Mar 2020 Rex enters the trunk routes with jets — Mar 2021 Delta lockdowns close the eastern states — Jul 2021 Omicron wave hits crew availability — Jan 2022 Bonza launches on leisure routes — Nov 2023 Bonza collapses after 15 months — Mar 2024 Rex enters administration and exits the trunk routes — Aug 2024 Cyclone Alfred closes south-east Queensland airports — Mar 2025 Jan 1985Jun 2013May 2026

To May 2026 · Marks show industry events

How full were the flights?

Inbound load factor, read as a floor rather than an exact figure. Some flights on this pair also carried passengers to and from other cities, and their seats cannot be split between those journeys. Dividing by every seat on every aircraft that touched the route gives the lowest the true figure can be, so actual occupancy is at or above the line. Seat data begins in 2009, so this series is shorter than the passenger chart above.

58%78%99% May 2025Nov 2025May 2026
4%52%101% May 2021Dec 2023May 2026
3%52%101% May 2016May 2021May 2026
3%52%101% Mar 2007Sep 2016May 2026

Load factor: seats data from 2009

When is this route busiest?

Average passengers by calendar month over the last ten years, relative to the annual average.

J: 1.06× the annual average J F: 0.81× the annual average F M: 0.74× the annual average M A: 0.84× the annual average A M: 0.83× the annual average M J: 1.00× the annual average J J: 1.20× the annual average J A: 1.18× the annual average A S: 1.17× the annual average S O: 1.02× the annual average O N: 0.94× the annual average N D: 1.21× the annual average D

Freight

Tonnes of air freight carried on this route — a dimension the domestic data does not have at all.

0383767 May 2025Nov 2025May 2026
0383767 May 2021Nov 2023May 2026
05881,176 May 2016Jun 2021May 2026
07861,572 Jan 1985Jun 2013May 2026

To May 2026

The route in numbers

Busiest month on record54,479 · Jul 2018
Data coverageJan 1985 – May 2026 (310 months)
Freight, 12 months to May 20266,050 tonnes
Destination regionUnited Arab Emirates

No punctuality data is published for international services, so there are no cancellation or on-time figures on this page. That series covers domestic routes only.

Related routes

From Sydney

To Abu Dhabi

Airport data