Emirates to launch Flights to Baghdad

Emirates has confirmed that it will launch flights to Baghdad on 1 July 2010.

Baghdad will be Emirates’ 103rd international destination and one of six new destinations to be launched by the airline this year including; Tokyo – which began on 28 March, Amsterdam, Prague, Madrid and Dakar.

Iraq is the last remaining Middle Eastern destination to be frequented by Emirates. The carrier’s current number of weekly Middle Eastern flights totals 197, across 10 countries.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline & Group, said, “Iraq is well on the road to recovery and we are confident that the time is right to commence our operations there. There is a high proportion of traffic heading both in and out of Iraq and we are in the right position to capitalise on this demand. 2010 is set to be a strong year for Emirates and with a steady stream of new aircraft and six new destinations on the map we continue to defy industry expectations.”

Initially, Emirates will operate a thrice weekly service on a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The route will be serviced by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, offering a three-class configuration of 12 First Class, 42 Business Class and 183 Economy Class seats.

Emirates expects the passenger mix travelling in and out of Iraq to come from a variety of sources, with a significant skew towards industry and Government personnel. The construction, telecommunications and oil sectors are expected to make up three of the largest industry segments. Iraqi nationals, both in Baghdad and residing outside of Iraq are also expected to be strong users of this new service.

Emirates expects to uplift around 10-12 tonnes of cargo per flight, using the belly hold capacity on the wide-bodied passenger aircraft.

With a flight time of less than three hours, EK 941 will depart Dubai on Thursday’s and Saturday’s at 07:00 and arrive in Baghdad at 08:30. From Baghdad EK 942 departs at 10:30 arriving in Dubai at 13:55. On Tuesday’s EK 941 will depart Dubai at 08:05 and arrive in Baghdad at 09:35. From Baghdad EK 942 will depart at 11:35 touching down in Dubai at 15:00.

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