Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways plans to make its stock market debut no sooner than 2025, two people familiar with the matter said, in potentially the first IPO of a major Gulf airline as the UAE's capital ramps up effort to become a global travel hub. Etihad, owned by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, had considered listing this year, the people said. However, it wants to present investors with 2024 financial results that will show a strong performance, one of the people said. Geopolitical instability in the region has also weighed on timing, the second person said. ADQ declined to comment. A spokesperson for Etihad said it "does not comment on rumour or speculation". Etihad, which started operations in 2003, spent billions of dollars buying minority stakes in other carriers to create larger network through its Abu Dhabi hub and better compete with Gulf peers Emirates and Qatar Airways. But that strategy unravelled as many of those airlines ran into financial trouble. After a management shake-up and years of paring back operations, Etihad has expanded under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves. Under its "Journey 2030" strategy, it plans to bolster Abu Dhabi's role as a travel hub connecting Asia and Europe.<br/>