Emirates marked World Book Day by taking thousands of travellers on a literary journey by orchestrating a mass book sharing initiative across its global network of more than 100 destinations.

Lucky passengers on board every Emirates flight departing the airline’s Dubai hub were presented with a novel as part of the annual drive to encourage the joy of reading and promote literacy.

Cabin crew were integral to the operation, with more than 1,000 of them arriving for duty with a stack of books written by authors who are part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature running from 10 to 13 March 2010.

Cabin crew also had the honour of telling passengers about the Emirates Literary Journey, explaining to readers that they were just taking the book on the first leg of its trip, and that they should pass it on to friend, family member, colleague or even a stranger in a café or metro station.

Instructions are also printed on the inside cover of each book, which includes a table for each reader to fill in with the details which will track each stage of the book’s ongoing journey, such as their name, and where and when they picked it up and then handed it on.

In addition, each book has an individual serial number and readers are encouraged to log on to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature website – emirateslitfest.com/literaryjourney – to share their views on the initiative, as well as comments on the novel they read.

More than 20 titles – by leading international authors such as Kate Mosse and R.J Ellory, as well as top regional writers like Bahaa Taher and Maha Gargash – were also distributed at 26 Emirates lounges across the world. In addition, novels were given to guests at the Emirates Group’s eco-friendly conservation-based destinations – Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai and Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Australia.

Emirates flies daily from Malta to Dubai via Larnaca, Cyprus.