Emirates is celebrating a milestone in its operations to Saudi Arabia, marking 30 years of service to Riyadh.
Since its first flight between Riyadh and Dubai in February 1990, the airline has carried more than eight million passengers on the route, which signifies strong links between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Riyadh is one of Emirates' key gateways in Saudi Arabia. The route began with two services a week utilising a Boeing 727 aircraft, and in 1997, the service was upgraded to the larger Boeing 777. In 2009, the service became daily due to high demand. In 2011, the daily service was upgraded to twice daily, in 2012 to three daily and in 2013 to four daily services.
The airline currently serves one of its daily flights to Riyadh with its latest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft fitted with the 'Game Changer' First Class suites and another daily flight with its flagship A380.
Adil Al Ghaith, senior vice president commercial operations Gulf, Middle East & Central Asia, said: "Riyadh is a major market for Emirates in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and region. We are embarking on a real milestone as we celebrate 30 years of service to the Kingdom's capital and we take great pride in the role we play in providing global connectivity both for business and leisure passengers through Dubai.
"Over the past three decades, we have introduced new products to Riyadh and provided award-winning inflight and on ground experiences to travellers. We've operated a special one-off A380 service twice to Riyadh in celebration of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's National Day. We also showcased flagship Airbus A380 last year at the first ever Saudi International Airshow and we currently serve Riyadh with our 'gamechanger' Boeing 777-300ER and another daily flight with our iconic A380, which has proved very popular with customers."
