Etihad Airways has announced it will launch services to Dusseldorf in Germany from December 16, before adding further flights next year.
Dusseldorf, which is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, will be the airline's 71st destination.
It will be connected to the airline's hub and home base in Abu Dhabi initially by four non-stop return services per week, rising to a daily service in mid-April 2012, the carrier said in a statement.
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James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, said: "The new Dusseldorf services will connect the capital of the UAE with the Dusseldorf catchment area - the second largest in Europe outside of London - which also includes the eastern part of the Netherlands."
He added: "Dusseldorf was the logical next step in growing our European passenger operations. By growing direct point to point traffic between the two cities, we look forward to strengthening ties between the capital of the UAE and Germany."
Christoph Blume, CEO of Dusseldorf International Airport said: "We're delighted to welcome Etihad Airways to Dusseldorf International Airport. Due to the economic power and the central location of both destinations in two major regions of the world, we are certain of the potential and the long-term nature of the new connection between Abu Dhabi and Dusseldorf."
In May, Emirates Airline said it was planning to launch extra flights to Frankfurt and upgrade one of its Munich services to an A380 superjumbo.
The announcement comes just days after the Dubai carrier reportedly received a snub from the German government over talks to secure extra landing rights in Berlin and Stuttgart.
The daily Frankfurt flight will take effect during the next winter schedule, making the city a triple daily service, Emirates said.
From January 1 2012, the airline's morning service to Munich will be upgraded to a superjumbo, it added, one of two daily flights.
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