Dhabi, the Official Mascot of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010, was in Dubai today to welcome passengers on board the Emirates airline bus which connects Dubai with Abu Dhabi, the host city of the tournament.

With European champions Inter Milan in action for the first time today, a number of football fans have been making use of the service which is free of charge to all Economy Class passengers travelling with the airline.

Italian and Korean fans, arriving for Inter’s semi-final with Seongnam Ilhawa FC, as well as hundreds of regular travellers, were greeted by the friendly Arabian gazelle at Dubai’s Terminal 3 ahead of their journey to the capital.

“Demand on the Abu Dhabi route has been exceptional since we introduced new measures to improve the service,” said Khalid bel Jaflah, Emirates’ Vice President Commercial Operations UAE. “The increase is testament to the significant number of passengers from the capital that travel with Emirates. They expect world-class service with us and we are proud to be able to extend this from the runway to the roads of the UAE.”

As well as connecting passengers to Abu Dhabi four times a day, Emirates also operates its bus, featuring a distinctive Emirates aircraft decal to help it stand out on UAE’s busy roads, to Al Ain three times a day.

The FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010, contested by club champions from six continents, as well as the UAE domestic league champions, runs until 18 December when the final will be played at Zayed Sports City.