To mark the opening of the newly built Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, Emirates, as part of its goodwill gesture, is flying in the world's largest passenger aircraft Airbus A-380 on July 15.
The 517-seater superjumbo will operate flight EK-516 on the Dubai-Delhi route to celebrate the launch of T-3 as a one-time special gesture by the airline, an Emirates spokesperson said here.
The new terminal, among the world's largest, was inaugurated on July 3 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. International operations will begin on July 14 while domestic flights operate from July 31.
A-380 had earlier flown in here by the Airbus on a demonstration flight after private carrier Kingfisher Airlines had placed orders for five superjumbos in June 2005.
Special offer
Bookings for the special Emirates flight opened on Tuesday with offer of special return fare of Rs.9,990 plus taxes, the spokesperson of the Dubai-based Emirates airline said.
“The fact that we are bringing the A-380 here is a reiteration of the potential that we see in the Indian market and our intent to partner with the nation in its growth,'' Emirates' senior vice-president Majid al Mualla said in a statement.
T-3 is equipped with aerobridges which can handle large number of passengers arriving or departing on the double-decker aircraft. The flight will arrive in Delhi at 1450 hours and return to Dubai as EK-517 at 1750 hours.
The A-380 has 517 seats, inclusive of 14 flat-bed First Class suites, 76 fully-flat seats in the Business Class 427 comfortably contoured seats in the Economy spread across four cabins on the lower deck, the statement said.
