Boeing's B777-300ER will arrive in Dubai today.
Boeing's new extended range version of the B777-300, the B777-300ER, as part of its Extended Operations (ETOPS) certification, will touch down at Dubai International Airport today prior to another long-haul test flight to Mauritius.

Dubai is the only destination in the Middle East chosen by Boeing for test flights. The aircraft will be inspected by Emirates flight crew tomorrow prior to its departure.

The ETOPS certification by US and European regulators is slated for early next year, after which the first 777-300 ER is expected to be delivered to Air France, International Lease Finance Corp's customer.

Emirates has 26 Boeing 777s on firm order, announced at the Paris Air show in June, part of a $19 billion deal for 71 aircraft, including 45 Airbuses.

The B777-300ER recently did its longest engine-out demonstration for ETOPS certification when it flew over five hours with one of its two engines shut down.

Welcoming the B777-300ER, Mohammed Ahli, director of operations at the Department of Civil Aviation, said: "Dubai International Airport is ready and technically equipped to accept any aircraft any time and, for that matter, if an Airbus A380 had been sought, we could have received it with the airport's present infrastructure."

Dubai has been used by Concorde, TriStar, Tupolev and other aircraft for test flights, mainly to see how they cope with the climate, a department spokesperson said.