Emirates prides itself on service and comfort with food and drink forming an integral part of any Emirates flight. Emirates passengers travelling from Malta can savour not only great tasting menus, but also gourmet dishes inspired by the Maltese cuisine.

Ravi Nage, Regional Catering manager, manager Food Product, Emirates Airline, was in Malta to create and develop four in-flight menu cycles for 2016 specifically designed for the daily routes departing from Malta to Dubai.

The preparation of meals for Emirates is carried out by Sky Gourmet Malta, an Austrian-Maltese joint venture forming part of DO & CO group, a catering company publicly listed on the Viennese and Istanbul stock exchanges, and meets Emirates' highest standards of hygiene, preparation and cooking procedures for airline meals. The meals are audited every year for suitability and excellence while great attention is given to the preparation process and service.

Mr Nage explained that food is freshly prepared on the premises of Sky Gourmet Malta, conveniently situated on the perimeter of Malta International Airport and is transported to the aircraft on specially built high loader trucks. The menus supplied from Malta are rotated monthly in First Class, Business Class and Economy Class. Four different menus are rotated on an annual basis with new menus being introduced annually.

Emirates also provides special meals for religious and other dietary needs. Special meals can be requested when flight bookings are made or even up to 24 hours before departure. Children's meals are also a special feature of Emirates service and meals are served on attractive trays and equipment.

"Our cabin crew compiles reports on catering at the end of each flight, providing the airline's in-flight Emirates In-Flight Catering Department with crucial customer feedback to ensure that high standards are consistently maintained," said Mr Nage.

Paul Fleri Soler, Emirates manager for Malta said: "When it comes to onboard meals, Emirates pays meticulous attention both to maintaining the highest possible standards and to what our customers want. Regular audits of food sampling are carried out to ensure that everything conforms to the correct specifications."

Emirates operates daily scheduled flights between Malta and Dubai on a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Emirates flies twice weekly to Malta, on Mondays and Wednesdays, via Larnaca in Cyprus, and on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the airline operates the Dubai-Malta route on a circular routing via Tunis in Tunisia. The return flight flies direct from Malta to Dubai.