Emirates to Resume Libya Flights

News Release, 14 August 2012

Emirates to Resume Libya Flights; Adds Third Iraq Destination

Emirates, one of the world's fastest growing airlines, is to restart flights to Tripoli from October 29, 2012, illustrating Libya’s importance in Emirates' global network and the airline's commitment to the country.

Emirates’ flights to Tripoli will leave Dubai every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 9.25am, providing direct connections from all its flights from New Zealand.

“In resuming our flights to Tripoli, Emirates is underlining its commitment to Libya at a time when the country is demonstrating its strength and resilience in the face of adversity,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa. “We have been closely monitoring the situation in Libya and feel that the time is right to re-launch our services, which will help to support business, international trade and passenger travel to and from Tripoli, as well as strengthening the country's overall infrastructure.”

Meanwhile, the Dubai-based airline which flies four times daily to New Zealand, has started its new non-stop service between Dubai and Erbil city in Iraq, making it the 11th destination launched by the airline this year. Emirates’ newest destination in the Middle East region is also its third gateway in Iraq, after Baghdad and Basra.

The launch of Erbil marks Emirates’ 16th destination in the Middle East and the airline is confident the new destination will be extremely popular with the many multinational companies who have a presence in Erbil, in addition to those looking to set up new business ventures.

The new service between Emirates’ hub in Dubai and Erbil will initially operate four times a week, increasing to a daily service from September 1. Emirates will fly an Airbus 340-300 on the route, offering 267 seats in a three-class configuration and more than 13 tonnes of cargo capacity.

Emirates currently operates daily flights to Baghdad and Basra. The airline has dedicated sales offices in both Iraqi cities.

Over the next six months, the airline will launch a further five destinations - Washington DC. on September 12, Adelaide on November 1, Lyon on December 5, Phuket on December 10 and Warsaw on February 6, 2013.

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