Libya was put on the Emirates' route map recently when its first flight to Tripoli left Dubai, carrying a VIP delegation and 12 tonnes of cargo.
The VIP delegation was headed by Mohamed Yahya Al Suweidi, assistant under secretary at the UAE Ministry of Communications and included Mohammed Abdulla Ahli, director of operations with the Department of Civil Aviation. The delegation was accompanied by Shoaib Khoory, head of procurement & logistics at Emirates, and other senior people from the airline. The first flight was operated with an Airbus A300-600R with 18 first, 35 business and 163 economy class sects. Tripoli became Emirates' sixth destination in Africa, when the thrice weekly flights started between Dubai and the Libyan capital. Meanwhile, Flight EK 021 took off recently from Dubai recently, launching daily Emirates services to Dusseldorf, Germany. An Emirates delegation and members of press were among the passengers. Emirates now operates three daily flights and a total of 23 non-stop flights weekly between Dubai and Germany. Daily non-stop flights already link Dubai with Frankfurt and Munich.