Etihad Airways is giving away 200 tickets for Australians to travel to Abu Dhabi as the carrier celebrates flying 15 years to the country and the nation’s re-opening of borders to international tourists.

Dubbed ‘The BIG Australian Celebration’, the carrier is sending over 100 winners and their lucky plus ones set to enjoy an all-expenses paid trip of a lifetime to Etihad’s home, Abu Dhabi, on a specially-chartered Boeing 787 Dreamliner on April 2, 2022.

“It’s been 20 very long months of waiting, wishing and wondering, and we are incredibly excited to finally be celebrating the opening of international borders, alongside a huge milestone – our 15th year anniversary of flying to Australia,” said Etihad Airways’ General Manager of Australia and New Zealand, Sarah Built.

“Since first touching down in Australia in 2007, we are proud to have welcomed more than 9.5 million passengers across our Australian routes to Abu Dhabi, and are excited to be doing something unprecedented to connect once again.”

She said lucky families will also be gifted the ultimate reunion, with Etihad Guest to fly in their far-flung loved ones to Abu Dhabi from destinations across its network, including UK, Europe and North America.

From long-awaited first meetings with babies only seen over FaceTime to long-distance partners, all Etihad Guest members need to do to be in with a chance to win is share their story on the carrier’s website.

Etihad’s Director, Loyalty and Partnerships, Kim Hardaker, said: “To reward our Australian Etihad Guest members’ incredible patience for travel, we’ve decided to give back in a big way with this once in a lifetime trip.

“We’ve also made our winners’ flight home an open ticket – meaning they can choose to stay a little longer, or use Abu Dhabi as a base to see a bit more of the world.

“So whether you’ve been with us for years, or are looking to sign up now and get started on your journey with us, we look forward to welcoming all our Aussie Guests back to Etihad and to our home in Abu Dhabi.”