Etihad Airways opens aviation-themed nursery in Abu Dhabi

The new nursery joins a range of services provided to Etihad Airways’ employees to support their welfare and wellbeing, including the recently launched ambulance service, a full-service medical centre, accommodation assistance and education support.   

Located directly opposite to the airline’s head office at Etihad Plaza, the Etihad Airways Nursery was officially opened by Ray Gammell, Etihad Airways’ Chief People and Performance Officer. Mr Gammell was joined by Moza Al Shoomi, Director of the Child’s Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs; Sue Jones, Kids Academy UK Founder; Khalifa Faraj Bin Hamoodah, Kids Academy UAE Chairman; Samantha McClements, Kids Academy Group Nursery Director; Etihad Airways’ flying nannies and cabin crew to welcome parents and children to the new facility.   

“Etihad Airways is a people business and our people are our number one priority. The new on-site nursery will provide highest quality of care for the children, while helping our working parents and their families to balance the roles and responsibilities of parenting with the demands of full-time work.  

“This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to the wellbeing of our employees and their families, to provide them with the best-in-class support services,” Gammell said. 

As well as a nursery, the facility also operates an out-of-hours ‘stay and play’ crèche service, allowing parents to leave their children in expert care during both the working week and weekends.  

The Etihad Airways Nursery is operated by the Kids Academy, a multi-award winning child care provider with more than fourteen years of experience across the UK and UAE. Kids Academy offers high quality British-based curriculum in line with the Ministry of Social Affairs guidelines for early years’ education in the UAE. This operates in three prime areas: communication and language, physical development, and personal, social and emotional development.  

Spanning an area of 740 square meters, the nursery can accommodate up to 100 children between the ages of 45 days and four years, supervised by a team of 30 highly-qualified teachers and fully-trained nursery assistants. 

The state-of-the-art nursery comprises five primary rooms catering for different stages of development including, babies’ room, toddlers’ room, an early learning classroom, a reception classroom equivalent to FS1, and an indoor play area.  

The interior of the facility is uniquely designed to resemble an Etihad Airways’ aircraft. Each room has windows and doors matching those of an aircraft, fluffy clouds hanging from the ceiling and colorful walls decorated with aircraft and cabin crew decals, and with the much-loved collectable Etihad characters: Zoe the bee, Jamool the camel, Kundai the lion, and Boo the panda.  

Commenting on the new nursery, Nouf Al Shehi, Etihad Airways’ Guest Services Officer, said: “My daughter adores the new nursery and I love the fact that she is just across the road in a safe, healthy and interactive learning environment. The new facility is a tremendous support to working mothers, enabling us to have a successful career and a family life.”  

Sanaa Al Daoumy, Etihad Airways’ HR Business Partner, said: “Parents at Etihad Airways now have a convenient nursery facility which meets their requirements and nurtures children according to the highest international standards. The children are in awe of the aircraft interior design, which makes them feel part of the Etihad Airways family.”