Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, underlined its commitment to Zambia and Zimbabwe by announcing that its Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route would become a daily service from 1st October 2012. 

The linked service, which currently operates five times a week, has performed strongly since its launch on 1st February this year. To date, Emirates has carried over 43,000 passengers on the route.  

“This latest boost to Emirates’ African network is testament to the continuous upward growth in demand for our flights to and from the continent,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for Africa. “A daily service to Lusaka and Harare will mean greater choice for customers, while an increased cargo capacity of 40 per cent will facilitate more export business opportunities for both countries.”  

A weekly cargo capacity of 224 tonnes and access to Emirates’ network of more than 120 destinations worldwide is already supporting a range of exports from both Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Key commodities being shipped from Lusaka and Harare include fresh flowers, fruit, vegetables and copper mining industry by-products. 

The Dubai-Lusaka-Harare service is operated by an A330-200 aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering 12 luxurious First Class seats, 42 seats in Business Class and generous space for 183 passengers in Economy Class.

EK 713 departs Dubai at 0925hrs, arriving in Lusaka 1435hrs. The service departs Lusaka at 1620hrs, arriving in Harare at 1720. The return flight will leave Harare at 1850hrs, arriving Lusaka at 1950hrs. It departs Lusaka at 2125hrs and lands in Dubai at 0640hrs the next day.

Emirates operates flights on a daily schedule from Malta to Dubai via Larnaka, Cyprus.