First of Emirates’ 7 additional flights arrives in Malé to traditional welcome

Wednesday, 3 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Maldives has welcomed the first of seven additional weekly flights to be operated to this picturesque archipelago by Emirates, the global catalyst of trade, business and leisure. A water cannon salute greeted Emirates flight EK 656 as it taxied towards the terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, Hulhulé, shortly before disembarking passengers were treated to refreshing king coconut, drunk traditional style from the fruit.

The Maldivian Minister of Economic Development Mohammed Saeed (right) with Emirates Area Manager Sri Lanka and Maldives Chandana de Silva (centre) and Emirates Customer Sales and Service Agent Maryam Nishad watch the landing of EK 656 at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, Male Chandana de Silva, Emirates Area Manager – Sri Lanka and Maldives, and Darrell Soertsz, the airline’s District Manager Maldives, joined senior Maldivian government officials at refreshments at the airport’s Maamahi Executive Lounge thereafter, to celebrate this significant increase in passenger and cargo capacity to and from the Maldives. From Monday, 1 December, Emirates flight EK656 will depart Dubai International Airport at 0210hrs, and arrive in Malé at 0715hrs, adding seven more inbound flights a week to the existing 14 Emirates flights a week in to the Maldives. The outbound flight EK657 will depart Ibrahim Nasir International Airport at 0845hrs and arrive in Dubai at 1155hrs, all times local. Both flights offer excellent connecting times to flights from and to key destinations in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. For passengers visiting Malé for example, the connecting time in Dubai for inbound Emirates flights from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Paris, Milan, Moscow, Frankfurt and Zurich is under three hours. Similarly, the new outbound flight offers a connecting time of three hours or less with Emirates flights to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Frankfurt, Madrid and Doha.

Emirates flight EK656 arrives in Male to a water cannon salute “Emirates has been serving the Maldives for more than 27 years and is a key supporter of the Maldivian economy, helping bring thousands of tourists into the country, and enabling Maldivian exporters to access global markets,” Mr de Silva said. “Since we launched flights to Malé in May 1987, the airline has grown into a global connector of people, places and economies, with a network of 147 destinations in 84 countries, including cargo-only destinations. Emirates is therefore a vital link between the Maldives and the rest of the world.” Emirates has flown a million people on the Dubai – Malé route in the past five years, and more than 300,000 on the Colombo – Malé sector during that time,‎ demonstrating the airline’s support of the Maldives’ economy. Onboard, passengers can enjoy regionally inspired gourmet cuisine, be entertained by ice, the airline’s award-winning in-flight entertainment system with up to 1,800 channels to choose from, including movies, television programmes, games, audio books and music from across the world, and enjoy service provided by Emirates’ multi-lingual cabin crew. As with all Emirates flights, passengers on the new Malé – Dubai services will enjoy the extra generous Emirates baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40 kg in Business Class and 50 kg in First Class. The additional services also provide more opportunities for members of Skywards, Emirates’ award-winning frequent flyer programme, to earn Skywards Miles on their travel. In celebration of the launch of these additional flights from the Maldives, Emirates has announced a special Economy Class return fare of $ 599 to Dubai, valid only on EK657 and EK656, until further notice.