Dubai, Emirates Airlines have announced the plan to launch a passenger service to Erbi, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, its third Iraqi destination in addition to current service to Basra and Baghdad and 17th passenger destination in the Middle East. The new service is scheduled to commenced on 12th of August 2012.

The scheduled service between Emirates Airlines’ hub in Dubai and Erbil will operate four times a week, increasing to a daily service from 1st September 2012. An Airbus 340-300 will be utilized on the route with a seating configuration of 267 and 13 tonnes of cargo capacity. Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, has been operating a freighter out of Erbil since February 2011 with three scheduled freighters a week, operated by Boeing 777Fs, having a capacity of 103 tonnes.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed AlMaktoum, Emirates Airline & Group's chairman and chief executive said, "Since we first launched flights into Iraq we have seen demand for our services there increase tenfold.

“Emirates has been offering a well utilised cargo service to Erbil since February 2011 and we are confident that our new passenger service will be filled in both directions. A resource rich country, Iraq offers great potential for growth and we look forward to the launch of our third destination there this August.

“We have been facilitating international trade between Erbil and destinations across our network for some time, so we already have a deep understanding of the market and its potential for strong revenue. The launch of Erbil will be our third in Iraq within 18 months, testament not only to the country’s potential but also to our own ability to swiftly enter previously underserved markets, opening them up to our global network of 123 destinations.” 

Emirates flight EK949 will depart each Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from Dubai International Airport at 0430hrs and will arrive in Erbil International Airport at 0630hrs. The return flight, EK950, will depart Erbil at 0800hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1140hrs the same day.