Dubai, Emirates will add a total of 73 additional flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during Ramadan, adding to the carrier’s already heavy flight schedule. Jeddah and Medinah Al Munawarrah will have the additional frequencies, starting from 20th July to 1st September 2012. 

Ahmed Khoory, Senior vice president, commercial operations Gulf, Middle East and Iran, said, “We expect travel to the Kingdom to increase significantly during the holy month of Ramadan in line with the annual movement of pilgrims. To effectively cater to this increased demand we have added extra services giving our passengers more flight options and easing the flow of traffic.

“There is a high demand for travel to the Kingdom from across our network given our convenient and frequent flight options. With a growing fleet of 175 aircraft we are fortunate to have the flexibility required to adjust our schedules and accommodate this increased traffic flow.” 

The additional flights will be serviced by a mixture of Boeing 777s and Airbus A330 aircraft, in a three class configuration. Emirates currently operates to four gateways in Saudi Arabia covering, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Medinah al Munawarah.

A total of 59 additional flights will operate to and from Jeddah throughout Ramadan, with Medinah Al Munawarrah receiving 14 extra services during the same time period.

Emirates received permission from the Saudi Authorities to operate these flights for Umrah passengers.