Gulf airline Etihad halved its losses in the first half of this year as cost cuts and a buoyant cargo market helped offset a slower than expected return to global air travel. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier reported an operating loss of $400m in the first six months of the year, down from $800m in the same period in 2020. Passenger revenue fell almost 70% year-on-year to $300m, which Etihad blamed on new variants of Covid-19 hitting travel markets in the Indian subcontinent and Europe. Etihad is one of several airlines to have turned the Gulf into a global stopover destination for long-haul travel over the past 20 years. But this “superconnector” business model has been badly affected by global border curbs. Domestic and short-haul travel have sprung back more quickly than the intercontinental journeys that form the backbone of the Gulf airlines’ schedules. Etihad has aggressively reduced costs in response to the crisis. Operating costs plunged 27% year on year from $1.9b to $1.4b, partly because it operated fewer planes. CE Tony Douglas said the Delta variant of Covid-19 had been a “curveball” that had disrupted the recovery in air travel, but added that Etihad was finally “making up for lost ground”.<br/>