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Emirates starts Bahrain service

DUBAI: Emirates' first flight to Bahrain took off from the Dubai International Airport on Tuesday, inaugurating a new service to the airline's 49th destination and completing its links to all the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) countries.

The flight, EK241, was operated with Emirates' latest aircraft Ñ the Boeing 777-300 Ñ bearing the airline's new corporate livery.

Emirates' Chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who led the official delegation on the inaugural, said: "Bahrain's addition is a great start to the year 2000, and marks a significant development for Emirates, as now we link Dubai to all AGCC countries.

With Sheikh Ahmed was a VIP team including Yahya Al Suweidi, Assistant Undersecretary, Ministry of Communications, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Abdul Rehman Al Mutaiwee, Director-General of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dr Obeid Busit, Director General of Dubai Customs.

From Emirates were Chief Director Airline Tim Clark, and Commercial Operations Director Ghaith Al Ghaith.

EK 241 departed Dubai at 0800 and arrived at the Bahrain International Airport at 0810, both local times. The flight was welcomed by a high-level Bahraini delegation led by Bahrain's Minister for Transport HH Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa.

Later, Sheikh Ahmed hosted a gala dinner at the Gulf Hotel's Convention Centre for more than 850 guests who included Bahrain's dignitaries, the airline's corporate clients and the press.

For the first week of service to January 31, Emirates will operate six flights. From February 1 to March 25, the airline will increase to 11 flights a week.

From March 26 to October 28, Emirates will fly twice a day to Bahrain, offering passengers a choice of morning and evening departures.