RAWALPINDI: The highly awaited Emirates A380 flight EK-2524 landed at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) for a one-off journey on Sunday, marking the first time ever that a double-decker aircraft has landed in Pakistan.

A special Emirates flight EK-2525, with 338 passengers on board, departed from IIA for Dubai at 4pm.

Abbas Shaban, the chief pilot, said he wished to return to IIA with the world’s largest commercial passenger jet, as the runway was smooth and the approach and taxi were good.

“It is a good airport, with all the facilities for an A380 flight,” Mr Shaban, a United Arab Emirates national who has been associated with Emirates for 23 years, told Dawn.

Mr Shaban operated flight EK-2524 with Qadir Moin, a Pakistani national.

Emirates will be allowed to operate commercial flights of the A380 once a week from Islamabad soon, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Hassan Baig said.

The case is with a federal minister who will make the decision.

“Emirates will be allowed to operate its A380 flight from Islamabad and hopefully the decision will be taken during this week,” Mr Baig told Dawn.

The flight, which carried 623 passengers, was welcomed at IIA with a ceremonial water cannon salute, the federal minister for aviation, the CAA director general and other senior government officials.

Three jet bridges were attached to the aircraft for passengers to disembark. After the welcoming ceremony, government officials, VIPs and the press were given a guided tour of the aircraft by Emirates cabin crew.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president of the commercial operations centre, UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi and Moazzam Ahmad Khan, Pakistan ambassador to the UAE, also travelled on the flight.

Among the special guests were two Pakistani members of Emirates’ first ever team, Captain Fazl-i-Ghani, the airline’s first chief pilot and team lead for inaugural operations, and Captain Ejazul Haq, one of the pilots who operated the first ever Emirates flight from Dubai to Karachi 33 years ago.

Mr Al Mualla said in his address that Emirates was proud to have operated the special flight to Islamabad, adding that bringing the popular aircraft to Islamabad was a significant milestone in operations in Pakistan, a country Emirates flew its first ever flight to in 1985.

“We are very keen to now launch a scheduled A380 service to Pakistan, as the number of passengers travelling to by Emirates is increasing and today the airline operates 71 weekly flights between Dubai and six cities of Pakistan, offering Pakistani travellers convenient access to over 150 global destinations,” he said.

He said Emirates has applied for permission to operate the A380 from Pakistan and is now awaiting a response from the authorities concerned. Emirates employs over 5,000 Pakistani nationals on various positions, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2018

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...