Emirates bows A380 in South Africa
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Johannesburg has welcomed its first scheduled Emirates A380 service, with flight EK761 from Dubai arriving at O R Tambo International Airport on Saturday. Johannesburg, the economic powerhouse of South Africa, is the first destination for the double-decker in Africa and the sixteenth destination on the Emirates A380 network. “The demand for Emirates’ services in and out of Johannesburg has always been high, with passenger growth of more than 27 percent over the last year. It is fitting that our A380 is now serving South Africa and we would like to thank the Department of Transport and OR Tambo International Airport for their efforts in enabling us to bring this exceptional aircraft to Johannesburg,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates’ senior vice president, Commercial Operations, Africa. Over the last year, Emirates has carried more than 900,000 passengers across its three South African gateways – Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. In the first eight months of 2011, the airline also carried more than 37,500 tonnes of high value cargo on its South African routes, with exports up 26 percent from the same period in 2010. On the flight deck of the A380 flight to Johannesburg were Captain Christos Panagiotopoulos and First Officer Kenneth Hubbard, both from South Africa. Emirates employs a total of 176 pilots and 389 Cabin Crew from South Africa. From 1st December, the A380 will also begin serving Kuala Lumpur and Rome, followed by Munich from 1st January.
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