Etihad Airways have been appointed by Commonwealth Games England to help the team make the 9,000 mile journey from Britain to Brisbane, entry point for Gold Coast 2018.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline are due to transport more 650 Team England athletes and support staff to Australia next year. 

Team England preparations are scheduled to begin in Brisbane with a holding camp from 19 March before the Games open on April 4. 

"Team England strives to facilitate the very best preparation for our athletes to deliver their best on the Gold Coast," Team England Chef de Mission Sarah Winckless said. 

"It’s fantastic to know that with Etihad, Team England will be in best possible hands on our journey to Australia. 

"Etihad is renowned the world over for the quality of its service so we can be sure that our Commonwealth Games will get off to the best possible start the second the athletes begin their journey."

Etihad currently operates 33 connecting flights weekly to Australia from London, Manchester and Edinburgh. 

In the past year, the airline has flown over 65,000 passengers from the UK to one of four Australian airports, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, they claim. 

"Etihad Airways is proud to be the preferred airline for Team England," James Harrison, general manager for Etihad Airways in the UK, said.

"The UK market is very important to us. 

"We operate to 13 Commonwealth countries and will have flown a record half a million Britons via Abu Dhabi and beyond in 2017. 

"The Commonwealth Games will be hugely inspirational and we look forward to helping Team England achieve their dreams in 2018."

This is not the first time that an airline from the UAE has been closely involved with the Commonwealth Games.

For Glasgow 2014 Emirates were the official airline of the Commonwealth Games.