Emirates celebrates the UAE’s progress in vaccinating its citizens and residents from COVID-19 through a national vaccination programme that has administered close to 9 million vaccines doses to date.
The special flight, which carried fully vaccinated crew and passengers onboard, was unprecedented in the industry in scale. With close to 400 fully vaccinated customers onboard, the flight illustrates confidence and undiminished excitement for air travel.
EK2021 was also supported by fully vaccinated teams across the aviation eco-system, from onboard crew to ground staff, demonstrating the readiness of the UAE’s aviation eco-system to support the safe rebound of air travel.
In spite of the pandemic, the UAE has maintained its status as a leading global aviation hub and it will continue to grow its position as a hub for passengers and cargo traffic by investing in innovations and close collaborations with all stakeholders.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: “The UAE’s rapid pace and progress in vaccinating our population is a testament of our leadership’s vision and commitment to safeguard our communities, and manage the pandemic by adopting the appropriate measures to protect both nationals and residents. Today’s flight is a showcase of the combined efforts and dedication of all stakeholders in supporting the vaccination programme, and the implementation of protocols in the past 12 months to ensure a safe travel journey, stimulate passenger traffic and set the groundwork for the ramp up of air travel in the near future. Emirates continues to support the national vaccination programme and we are pleased with the progress made within the group in vaccinating our employees.”
Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer said: “We would like to thank the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Dubai Health Authority, The UAE General Civil Aviation authority (GCAA), Dubai Airports, GRFDA, Dubai Police, Airbus and Pure Health as well as other stakeholders for their close cooperation and support of our special flight.”
The UAE currently has one of the world’s highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents at 90.22 doses per 100 people. The outstanding effort by the health authorities in the UAE has contributed to reaching the administration of close to 9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In parallel, the Emirates Group vaccination programme rolled out to its UAE-based workforce less than three months ago, and since then has delivered COVID-19 shots to over 35,000 Emirates employees across its vaccination centres.
The flight was operated with Emirates’ newest A380 aircraft which featured the airline’s brand-new Premium Economy seats, and refreshed cabin interiors across every cabin class.
