DUBAI, 22 September 2006 — In a bid to facilitate travel for thousands of pilgrims, Dubai-based Emirates Airline will operate extra flights to Jeddah during Ramadan.
Emirates will operate the additional flights to Jeddah between Sept. 20 and Nov. 5 and also revise its existing flight schedules to suit Iftar timings.
Consequently, Emirates’ scheduled flight EK 803 will depart Dubai at a rescheduled time of 1845 hours, arriving in Jeddah at 2030 hours.
Return flight, EK 804, bound for Dubai will take off from Jeddah at 2200 hours.
Expressing his gratitude, Hamad Obaidalla, senior vice president Commercial Operations Gulf, Middle East & Iran, said: “Millions of pilgrims visit the holy land for Umrah during Ramadan and Emirates is thankful to the Saudi authorities for granting it permission to operate additional flights to cater to the increased passenger movement during this peak season.”
To provide further assistance to pilgrims, the airline’s 24-hour hot line 800-8-971-487 will operate round the clock offering customers direct access to a travel consultant.
Emirates has recently strengthened its presence in Saudi Arabia with the introduction of a sixth weekly service each to Jeddah and Riyadh. At present, the airline operates 17 flights — six to Riyadh; six to Jeddah and five to Dammam — using a mixed fleet of Boeing 777-200 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft.
