Emirates to launch Final Phase of Terminal 3 in Dubai on 11 November 2008

It’s full steam ahead for Emirates with the much-anticipated final phase of operations from Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International set for launch on Tuesday, 11th November at 13:15hrs.

This fourth and final phase will launch flights to Emirates’ route network in the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Australasia, constituting 40% of its total operations. From 12th November, all Emirates flights will criss-cross its network, spanning 91 destinations on six continents, from Emirates Terminal 3.

The first flights to depart from the terminal in this phase will be EK584 to Dhaka at 13:15hrs and EK502 to Mumbai at 13:20hrs; the first flight to arrive will be EK658 from Male/Colombo at 15:00hrs.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group said, “Emirates Terminal 3 is not just a symbol of our phenomenal success or our ambitious plans but a testament to our understanding of customer needs. Our passengers deserve to be treated in the style, luxury and the hospitality they have come to expect from the Emirates brand. We have received terrific feedback from our customers, attesting to our corporate values of service excellence and innovation. Our first three phases have been completed smoothly and we are confident that the final phase will be equally well-managed.”

The first 20 days of operations fully tried and tested all the facilities at the new terminal, and came up trumps, vindicating the years of meticulous design and careful planning that have helped to create robust systems. More than 1,700 flights, 377,500 passengers and 267,000 pieces of baggage went through the terminal in the first 20 days. An increasing number of passengers are discovering the joys of Emirates’ Online Check-in and Self Service Kiosks – more than 9,500 passengers used the former and 6,700 the latter, including 2,200 who checked-in their bags through the kiosks – remarkable figures given that the terminal also boasts of around 180 traditional check-in counters.

With the capacity to seat 800, more than 5,500 passengers enjoyed the luxurious pampering at the Emirates First Class Lounge, while 35,500 customers have been able to relax in the soothing ambience of the 1,200-seater Emirates Business Class Lounge.

More than 8,500 passengers took advantage of the distinctive baby strollers freely available at check-in. These strollers can be conveniently dropped off at the departure gates before boarding the flight. The terminal was not short of young passengers travelling alone and all 250 were well cared for and thoroughly entertained at the unaccompanied Minors Lounge. Nearly 4,000 special needs passengers travelled in complete comfort thanks to Dnata’s services and its well-appointed Special Handling Lounge.

Emirates will continue to maintain a presence in Concourse 1 at Dubai International, operating 12 gates as well as the Emirates First Class and Business Class Lounges. Concourses 1 and 2 are connected and regardless of the concourse they depart from or arrive at, all Emirates passengers will travel to their destinations or enter Dubai through Emirates Terminal 3.

With the addition of 35 destinations on 11th November, Emirates will fly to all its 91 passenger destinations from Emirates Terminal 3.

Indian Subcontinent [17 destinations]: Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Male, Peshawar, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkatta and Kozhikode.

East Asia and Australasia [18 destinations]: Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Christchurch, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Nagoya, Osaka, Perth, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.

Europe [22 destinations]: Athens, Birmingham, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Istanbul, Larnaca, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Malta, Manchester, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Newcastle, Nice, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Zurich and Venice.

GCC/Middle East [13 destinations]: Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Damascus, Dhahran, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh, Sana’a and Tehran.

Africa [16 destinations]: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Mauritius, Nairobi, Seychelles, Tripoli and Tunisia.

Americas [5 destinations]: Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo and Toronto. Emirates will launch services to San Francisco from 15th December.

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