Flying via Etihad Air : a horrible experience

I didn't know that the UAE had been so badly affected by the Iran war until I traveled by the Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad Airways last week. At every airport, the flight was late. At Manchester it was due to late arrival from Abu Dhabi. The plane departed two hours later than the original scheduled time. At Abu Dhabi itself, the flight to Karachi was first delayed by two hours, then another two and a half hours. The first excuse of course was the late arrival of the plane from Karachi, then it had to wait for about fifty deportees, and finally they said there was so much congestion at the airport that it wasn't getting permission to take off for another two hours.

All this time, the plane kept crawling with the air-conditioning switched off (to save fuel), which led to most male passengers taking off their shirts and children crying. The staff was incredibly rude, making one wonder why anyone would want to travel by Etihad Air. But then, at Karachi Airport I was told that even Emirates airplanes were arriving and departing much later than their scheduled times. I'm sure the other UAE airlines have been affected as badly.