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UAE's Emirates to operate first-ever superjumbo flight to Turkey - ZAWYA
Deployment of A380 aircraft to boost airline capacity, traffic between UAE and Turkey
Emirates to receive three more A380 aircrafts from Airbus this year, with its last unit on order scheduled to join its fleet in November. These deliveries will bring Emirates’ total fleet of A380s to 118 units. Image courtesy Dubai Media Office Twitter handle. Image used for illustrative purpose.
Emirates will deploy its A380 aircraft on the Turkey route for the first time next month as the UAE-based carrier continues to boost its capacity following the reopening of international borders.
Effective October 1, travellers between Dubai and Istanbul can experience the superjumbo, which is configured to carry up to 517 people, the carrier said in a statement.
The use of the aircraft will increase Emirates’ capacity per flight by more than 150 passengers compared to the current Boeing 777-300ER.
“We are excited to finally bring our flagship to Istanbul to join man other top cities we currently serve with the A380,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ chief commercial officer.
The airline has so far carried around six million flyers on more than 23,000 flights since it started operating to Turkey 34 years ago.
According to Majid Khan, vice president for aviation development of iGA Istanbul Airport, the A380 deployment will provide a much-needed boost to the tourism sectors in UAE and Turkey.
“This increase will help boost traffic between our two nations… It will bring more inbound tourism to Istanbul and Turkey from currently unserved or underserved destinations,” said Khan.
Emirates grounded its fleet of superjumbos last year, when passenger traffic plummeted to record lows.
The airline has recently moved forward the delivery of its last A380 orders to November this year. The final delivery is set to mark the end of the iconic aircraft’s production.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Daniel Luiz )
