This week Emirates marked its 110th international destination with its inaugural flight to Basra, the airline’s first service to Iraq. As from this month, Emirates is operating both passenger and cargo services to and from Basra with an estimated 130 tonnes of freight per week between Dubai and Basra.

Emirates is the largest international carrier to operate services into Iraq, helping link the country to the rest of the world through its convenient connections in Dubai.

“Iraq is experiencing a surge in growth and it is our goal to help the country prosper and flourish. Emirates is committed to working alongside the Iraqi authorities to make Basra a success,” said Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline.

“Our strong forward bookings for Basra indicate the high demand for services to this destination, particularly from the corporate sector as the city rebuilds. Iraq is a key destination for Emirates and we expect our operations to Basra to thrive alongside the city’s growth,” he added.

Basra is the first new destination for Emirates in 2011 with Geneva to launch on 1 June, followed by Copenhagen on 1 August.

In addition to transporting equipment for oil and petroleum companies, Emirates expects to carry a diverse range of goods from all corners of the globe, including perishable foodstuffs, medical products, car parts, garments, textiles and various electronic items such as mobile phones. Goods travelling in the other direction – to the likes of the United States, USA, China, India and the UK − will include petroleum products, grains, wool and dates.

The service will operate four times a week each Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The flight will be operated by an Airbus A330, in a three class configuration, First Class, Business Class and Economy Class on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday and in a two class configuration, Business Class and Economy Class, on Mondays.

EK 945 will depart Dubai at 1:45pm and touch down at Basra International Airport at 2:45pm the same day. At 4:15pm, return flight EK 946 will depart Basra touching down in Dubai at 7:10pm. The service connects seamlessly with key industry hubs in Europe.

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