With air traffic between India and the UAE on the rise, the Gulf state's national carrier Etihad Airways is on the move to start services to Indian cities of Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Following the successful launch of its Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram services in June, Etihad continues to attract growing numbers of Kerala-based customers.

The passenger figures on both the routes have averaged more than 90 per cent across economy and business class, an airline statement said.

The airline also operates daily flights to Delhi and Mumbai and it will look to boost its network further in the next 12 months as bilateral talks with the Indian government continue to make steady progress.

"India is one of Etihad's key global markets and the phenomenal success achieved so quickly by the Kerala sectors demonstrates the growing demand for our services," Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan said.

"Currently, Etihad flies to four Indian destinations and ideally we would like to double this in the next few years in order to meet the huge demand from Indian customers across the airline network, which includes the UK, Canada, South Africa as well as the UAE," Hogan added.