Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline, marked the launch of its daily non-stop service to the city of Beijing, as well as the increase in frequency from four to five weekly flights from Malta to Dubai via Larnaca, Cyprus.
Emirates hosted a grand reception at the “Garden of Serenity”, a typical Chinese garden in Santa Lucija. The event was attended by Emirates officials, ministers and Members of Parliament, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, guests from the Chinese Embassy and the China Cultural Centre, the media in Malta and Cyprus and more than 300 travel and cargo agents in Malta.
Passengers from Malta currently have the choice of travelling to Dubai and Cyprus at 15:40 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and now also on Saturday on the 237-seat Airbus 330-200, configured in three classes.
The new flight will also increase cargo capacity to Malta, giving customers of Emirates SkyCargo greater flexibility in their operations.
Besides unveiling Beijing on its route map, Emirates has also fortified its network in the Asia-Pacific region with the addition of three flights per week to its first destination in China – Hong Kong; one additional flight to Kuala Lumpur to serve the Malaysian capital nine times a week; plus three more flights to Australia to bring Emirates’ Perth service to twice-daily. The additional frequency will provide travellers from Malta and other European cities, with even more choices of flight timings and connections.
Emirates operates services to more than 80 cities in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific. The airline flies daily between Dubai and Beijing apart from its current daily flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong.
During the event, Emirates presented seven Travel Awards to top travel agents in Malta for their significant sales performance. The Emirates Travel Awards were presented by Emirates Senior Vice President Keith Longstaff to Charles Vella from Directions Travel, Aaron Stivala from Planit Travel, Kenneth Demartino from KD Travel Services, Paul Portelli from John Portelli Enterprises, Michael Gatt from Howards Travel, Edward Papps from EC Travel Services and Paul Pizzuto from S. Mifsud & Sons.