Marking the first commercial A380 into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Emirates will serve Jeddah four times weekly with the super-jumbo starting from 1 February, 2010.

Jeddah will be the eighth destination to be added to the growing list of gateways served by the A380 which include; Sydney, Auckland, Heathrow, Bangkok, Toronto, Seoul and from last December, Paris.

Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations Gulf, Middle East and Iran said: “The introduction of the highly acclaimed A380 on the Jeddah route is a true reflection of an increased demand for services in and out of the Kingdom. This service into Jeddah will mark Emirates’ first Middle Eastern A380 destination outside of Dubai, a significant milestone for both Emirates and Saudi Arabia."

Starting 1 February, EK 803 will leave Dubai four days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, at 16.30hrs and arrive in Jeddah at 18.30hrs. From Jeddah, EK 804 departs at 20.45hrs, arriving in Dubai at 00.15hrs.

Emirates currently has seven A380 aircraft in its fleet. The airline boasts the world’s largest order of Airbus A380s with a further 51 double-deckers still to be delivered.

Emirates commenced services to Jeddah in 1989, with Jeddah the first of three gateways that Emirates now operates to in the Kingdom, in addition to Riyadh and Dammam.

Emirates operates a daily flight from Malta to Dubai via Larnaca, Cyprus.