Abu Dhabi's Etihad confident demand for flights to China will pick up by summer

DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is optimistic that demand for travel on flights to and from China will improve by the summer, its chief commercial officer said on Wednesday.

"Whilst the spread of COVID-19 has posed a major challenge for all airlines serving China, with a massive drop in demand on key routes, we remain optimistic that the situation will improve by the summer," he said in a statement.

Etihad would start flying to new Beijing airport Daxing International Airport from June 1 instead of Beijing's Capital International Airport, the airline announced.

(This story has been refiled to remove superfluous word in third paragraph).

(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, editing by Louise Heavens)