Emirates A380 in special one-off Jordan flight for 30th anniversary

Champion of the world's biggest airliner marks three decades of operations to Levant with celebratory flight to Amman using the world famous double-decker.

An Emirates Airbus A380 will be used to pay a one-off visit to Amman as the carrier celebrates 30 years of operations to the region. Ollie Dale / AFP
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Emirates will operate a special one-off A380 service to Amman on 25 September, marking 30 years of commitment to Jordan.

The airline’s flagship double-decker, with the ability to carry over 500 passengers at a time, will make history when it becomes the first-ever scheduled A380 service to Queen Alia International Airport, and it will also be the first time the A380 commercially operates to the Levant.

On 25 September, the Emirates A380 service will operate EK 901 and EK 902, departing Dubai at 0725hrs and arriving in Amman at 0930hrs. The flight will then depart Amman at 1300hrs arriving in Dubai at 1700hrs on the same day.

This year is a milestone for Emirates as it celebrates 30 years of operations to Jordan. With the support of the Jordanian authorities and Airport International Group, the deployment of the one-off Emirates A380 operation has been made possible through significant infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the aircraft.

“The decision to bring the Emirates A380 for a one-off flight to Amman is a testament to the competitiveness of Jordan’s aviation infrastructure and strong transport sector,” said the Jordanian minister of transport, Engineer Yahya Kisbi. “We thank Emirates for the long-standing partnership and look forward to welcoming the airline’s flagship in Amman next month.”

Emirates has been flying to Jordan since 1986, and since then has carried more than 4.1 million passengers. In the last five years, Emirates has also transported 100,000 tonnes of cargo to and from the country. Emirates has developed its operations in Jordan by gradually increasing its services, and today operates three daily flights between Amman and Dubai.

Emirates also employs almost 400 Jordanian nationals across the organisation, including 60 cabin crew. The airline also employs eleven Jordanian pilots, of which seven operate the A380.

The Emirates A380 flying to Amman will be set in a three-class configuration, with 429 seats in economy on the lower deck, 76 flat-bed seats in business and 14 first class private suites on the upper deck.

Introduced in 2008, Emirates currently has 81 A380s in service and 61 pending delivery, more than any other airline globally. More than 57 million passengers have travelled on the Emirates A380s and the aircraft has visited more the 60 airports for special one-off and permanent services. The airline currently operates the A380 to more 40 global destinations and recently announced its deployment to Guangzhou in China from October 1.

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