Dubai: Emirates will restart passenger flights to Tripoli from September 1, 2013, illustrating Libya’s importance in Emirates’ global network and the airline’s commitment to the country.
Emirates’ three-weekly flights to Tripoli, served by a Boeing 777-200ER in a three-class configuration, will make a quick stop in Malta every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Under the new schedule, Emirates’ flight EK745 will leave Dubai at 0930hrs arriving in Malta at 1325hrs. The service will depart Malta 1445hrs arriving in Tripoli at 1555hrs. The return flight will leave Tripoli International Airport at 1725hrs and will land in Dubai at 0100 hrs.
“The re-introduction of our flights to Tripoli is a further boost to north Africa, coming after the launch of Emirates’ daily service to Algiers from 1st March 2013,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa. “We have been closely monitoring the situation in Libya and feel that the time is right to re-launch our services, which will help to support business, international trade and passenger travel to and from Tripoli, as well as strengthening the country’s overall infrastructure.”
In June 2012, Emirates underlined its commitment to Libya with the reopening of its Tripoli town office enabling customers in Tripoli to book travel on Emirates services outside of Libya including flights commencing from Tunis. The one-stop travel hub has been designed to make business and leisure travel easier and more convenient, with ticketing and reservation counters for general enquiries and dedicated counters for premium passengers, Emirates Holidays customers and travel agents.
“Africa is a hugely important continent for Emirates and we are committed to investing in and further strengthening our products and services a across the region. Tripoli will be one of the 23 destinations to which Emirates currently flies in Africa. The resumed service will be of particular benefit to passengers with connections within the GCC, Indian Subcontinent, Far East and West Asia points,” added Grillet.
Supporting the thriving trade between Tripoli and the rest of the world, Emirates has introduced a dedicated cargo service into Tripoli in May 2012. Emirates’ cargo division transports a variety of goods into Tripoli ranging from electronic goods from the Far East to drilling equipment from the US.
The re-launch of Emirates flights will enable SkyCargo to even better serve Libyan importers by offering a weekly capacity of 40 tonnes every week enabling them greater capacity and more frequent connections with their supplier markets.
Tripoli has been part of Emirates’ route network since March 2001, when services were launched with 4 flights a week.
Over the next six months, Emirates will launch a further four destinations: Haneda on 3 June, Stockholm on 4 September, Clark on 1 October, and Milan-New York on 1 October 2013.
