Emirates Airline has been slowly opening the doors of its new home at Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport. On October 14 flights to countries on its GCC and Americas network were launched in this first phase, and the first flight – an Airbus A330-200 from Dubai to Doha, took off from the terminal with 136 passengers on board.
Once this phase was deemed operating smoothly, the second phase took effect at the end of October when flights were launched to the rest of the Middle East and Africa, increasing the airline’s operations to 99 flights every day, a total of 37 per cent of all the airline’s flights.
Emirates alone will cater to more than 40 million passengers a year with the completion of Concourse 3 of the terminal. Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, said, “With our growth plans well on track, having a dedicated terminal for Emirates was no longer an option but a necessity. This project has been a very exciting one from the word go and we can now boast of world-class facilities and lounges that will sweep our passengers off their feet. With spas to relax between flights, an entire level of Duty Free shopping, a five and four star hotel and fine dining, the airport is truly a destination in itself.”
Dubai Duty Free will operate over 8,000 sq m of retail space in T3 and will more than double its current retail operations at Dubai International. Colm McLoughlin, managing director of Dubai Duty Free said, “The new duty free operation at Emirates Terminal 3 will enable passengers to enjoy world class shopping in stellar surroundings. There is certainly a ‘wow’ factor to the whole terminal and this is mirrored in the retail areas where the latest products, from everyday items to high-end luxury goods, are available 24 hours a day.”
“Emirates maintained schedule integrity, the baggage systems proved robust, passenger services were exemplary and we have received excellent feedback from our passengers. We could not have asked for a better opening week and we hope to move our entire operations to Emirates Terminal 3 by December this year,” said Clark.
Flights to Europe will take off in the third phase, escalating operations to 168 daily flights or 60 per cent of all Emirates’ services. The fourth and final phase will include flights to the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Australasia, taking the total operations to 269 flights every day.