KUALA LUMPUR: Dubai-Based Emirates will finally reintroduce its most beloved Airbus A380 aircraft to the Kuala Lumpur-Dubai route from Dec 1 this year.
The airline's country manager in Malaysia, Mohammad Al Attar said the resumption of the superjumbo jet was to meet the increasing travel demand to and from Malaysia as well as welcome more passengers on its flights.
"This is also an opportunity for Emirates to play our part in the rejuvenation of the travel and tourism sector in Malaysia, Dubai and beyond, following the challenges of the past two years," he told the New Straits Times here yesterday.
In April this year, Mohammad said Emirates was studying the inbound and outbound demand to and from Malaysia before the airline could decide on bringing back its flagship aircraft again.
He also said at that time there were many requests from Malaysian travellers for the airline to resume the operations of the A380 on the Kuala Lumpur-Dubai route.
The airline had previously flown the superjumbo jet to Kuala Lumpur three times a day before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Malaysian international borders were closed for two years before it finally opened on April 1 2022.
Currently, Emirates is operating 11 flights weekly from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai and vice versa on its Boeing B777 aircraft.
The carrier's A380 service flight EK346 to Malaysia's capital city will depart Dubai at 0330hrs, landing at 1435hrs, while its EK343 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 0145hrs and arriving in Dubai at 0505hrs.
The EK342 and EK345 flights will continue operating the same routes by the B777.
Meanwhile, Mohammad said Emirates had signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with Malaysia Tourism Board earlier this year to boost the inbound traffic into Malaysia from the airline's key strategic markets in order to promote the country as a unique travel destination.
"Emirates is committed to Malaysia and has been operating in the country for over 25 years. Over the past two and a half decades, the airline has made significant contributions to the local economy and tourism by transporting visitors from its six-continent global network," he added.