Etihad has announced that it will begin operating limited flights from Abu Dhabi starting from Friday.

It said the decision has followed “extensive safety and security assessments”.

These new flights will be travelling to London Heathrow and Manchester in the UK, as well as European cities such as Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Rome, Paris, and Milan.

Passengers with previous bookings will be prioritised, the airline said, although tickets are also available to buy on its website.

The airline has warned travellers against turning up to the airport unless they have been contacted directly by Etihad or hold a confirmed booking on one of the new flights.

New commercial flights out of Dubai have also been announced by Emirates. They are open for booking but customers with earlier bookings will be prioritised, the airline said.

Flights to Manchester, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, and Edinburgh are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Passengers transiting in Dubai will only be accepted on one of these flights if their connecting flight is operating as planned.

Emirates said it carried about 30,000 passengers out of Dubai on Thursday and has operated 35 flights to the UK since resuming services.

The airline added that by Saturday it would have 106 return daily flights going to 83 destinations. For the UK, it would be operating 11 daily flights across five airports by Saturday, it said.

The BBC’s Nick Beake, who was at Dubai Airport on Friday morning, said it felt calm and quiet on Friday, with a steady stream of passengers arriving. He added that there was no visible gathering of expats trying to leave.