DUBAI/LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's Etihad

Airways plans to make its stock market debut no sooner than

2025, two people familiar with the matter said, in potentially

the first IPO of a major Gulf airline as the UAE's capital ramps

up effort to become a global travel hub.

Etihad, owned by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, had considered

listing this year, the people said.

However, it wants to present investors with 2024 financial

results that will show a strong performance, one of the people

said. Geopolitical instability in the region has also weighed on

timing, the second person said.

ADQ declined to comment. A spokesperson for Etihad said it

"does not comment on rumour or speculation".

Etihad, which started operations in 2003, spent billions of

dollars buying minority stakes in other carriers to create

larger network through its Abu Dhabi hub and better compete with

Gulf peers Emirates and Qatar Airways. But that strategy

unravelled as many of those airlines ran into financial trouble.

After a management shake-up and years of paring back

operations, Etihad has expanded under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves.

Under its "Journey 2030" strategy, it plans to bolster Abu

Dhabi's role as a travel hub connecting Asia and Europe.

Targets include expanding destinations to more than 125

airports by 2030 from over 70 today, and boosting its fleet to

over 160 aircraft from around 90 now.

Abu Dhabi's Zayed International Airport opened a

multibillion-dollar new terminal last year that tripled annual

capacity to 45 million passengers.

"Our mandate is clear: to deliver extraordinary customer

service and sustainable profitability, as the foundation for

Etihad's contribution to Abu Dhabi's aspirations," Neves was

quoted as saying last November.

The airline last month reported a 48% increase in half-year

after tax profit, with passenger numbers rising 38% to 8.7

million. That followed full-year net profits in 2022 and 2023.

Neves told Reuters in March that Etihad was improving

transparency, governance and its balance sheet to be ready for

an IPO should ADQ decide to list it.

Etihad also faces delays in receiving new aircraft from

planemakers Airbus and Boeing ( BA ), which have forced

some airlines to scale back growth plans.

That comes amid a boom in international travel since the

pandemic, which governments in the Gulf are riding to pursue

reforms aimed at diversifying their economies away from fossil

fuels.

The measures include privatising state assets including

airlines, and a potential Etihad listing would add to the

regional flurry of IPOs in recent years.

The president of bigger rival Emirates said in 2021 the

Dubai government was considering an IPO of the airline, and

Flynas in Saudi Arabia is looking to list as soon as this year,

Bloomberg reported. Flynas was not immediately available for

comment.

($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)