Emirates to Increase Flights across the GCC and Middle East Ahead of Eid Al Fitr

Emirates, the UAE’s national carrier, on Tuesday announced expansion of its schedule this week to offer 38 additional flights across six cities in the GCC and Middle East to meet significant demand for Eid Al Fitr holiday travel.

This year, more than 110,000 travellers are expected to board Emirates flights during Eid Al Fitr across the region, with additional flights planned for Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Medina, Kuwait, and Beirut, the airline said.

The national airline will be adding four extra flights to Saudi Arabia between April 19 and 29, to and from Riyadh, to cater to Saudi travellers looking to visit Dubai and other destinations beyond. In Jeddah, the airline will be operating three daily A380s, and will additionally layer on six flights operated by its Boeing 777 to serve the peak travel holiday period from the city between April 20 and 25.

Emirates will also boost its flights to Dammam from 18 to 21 weekly, starting from April 20 until May 31 with additional flights scheduled on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays to connect travellers to their favourite holiday getaways. 

Travelers from Medina will have the choice of an additional 16 flights in April to accommodate those travelling inbound for Umrah, as well as travellers looking to start their holidays earlier, the airline said.

Emirates Saudi Customers

This year, Emirates customers in Saudi Arabia will be venturing to Dubai for their Eid Al Fitr celebrations, in addition to the Maldives, London, Phuket, Mauritius, Manila and Paris.

In Kuwait, Emirates will operate an additional eight flights for Eid with its Boeing 777 from 20-27 April.  Popular destinations for Kuwaiti travellers this year include Dubai, Maldives, Phuket, Bangkok, London, Mauritius, and Milan.

Emirates will offer an additional flight on April 23 on the airline’s existing Beirut schedule to accommodate for more travellers who will be heading home to visit friends and relatives.

Upholding Eid traditions and keeping in with its proud Middle Eastern heritage, the airline will be serving a specially crafted Eid menu for customers between April 21 and 24 for flights departing from Dubai. Favourites like chicken mandi, mansaf, samka harra, samak matfi, madfoon, and Gulf style braised lamb will be served onboard, among other moreish dishes.

Emirates Cuisine

All Emirates customers connecting in Dubai and travelling onwards during this time will be treated to delicious sweets and desserts, like warm date pudding in First Class, a fluffy vanilla sponge cake with white chocolate and hibiscus cream in Business and Premium Economy Class, and Batheetha – a saffron date crumble, or a sweet pumpkin Asseda, topped with roasted cashew nuts in Economy Class. All passengers will also receive an additional mini treat of ashta sfouf with their meal wishing them ‘Eid Mubarak.’

Customers entering Emirates’ First-Class lounges on the first day of Eid will be welcomed with Arabic coffee, traditional jallab and kamarrudin juices, mezze, lamb or Emirati ouzi, followed by regional favourites kunafa and baklava ice-cream. 

Special Eid mocktails will also be served across both First and Business Class lounges. Business Class lounges will serve special Eid dishes and desserts during this time as well.

Emirates-Toronto Flights

Following the breakthrough expanded air transport agreement between the UAE and Canada, Emirates will be operating two additional flights per week between Dubai and Toronto.

From April 20, daily flights will operate on the busy route to serve huge demand for passenger services.

The move comes as bilateral relations between the UAE and Canada have enhanced significantly, with both countries set to reap vast economic benefits across a multitude of sectors and supply chains.

Emirates will operate the flagship A380 aircraft on the Dubai-Toronto route, allowing 491 passengers across Economy Class, Business Class, and First Class on each flight. With the two additional flights per week, Emirates will offer close to 2,000 additional seats to serve the busy route, representing a 40% increase in capacity between its hub city of Dubai and the Canadian point.

The Dubai-Toronto route is highly popular amongst customers from India, UAE, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka while the same countries represent top destinations for travellers from Toronto.