Etihad Airways will suspend its service between Abu Dhabi International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) with effect from 25 March 2018, the airline has announced.

The airline cited American Airlines’ unilateral decision to terminate its codeshare agreement with is as the reason for the cancellation. The route will become commercially unsustainable, the airline said.

Etihad Airways launched service to DFW in December 2014 with a three-weekly flight which was upgraded to a daily service in February 2017, providing travellers with access to more US cities.

More than 235,000 travellers have flown on the route since its launch with almost half of the passengers connecting on US codeshare flights operated by American Airlines.

According to a 2016 research, Etihad Airways contributed US$3.8 billion to the US economy, supported more than 30,000 American jobs, and brought 280,000 additional visitors to the United States.

Etihad Airways currently operates 42 non-stop flights a week to five destinations in the US including Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York and Washington.