Emirates has confirmed it will serve Mauritius with a double daily A380 service from December 1st this year.

This second A380, which will operate as flight EK 703/704, replaces the existing Boeing 777 operation and increases Emirates’ capacity on the route by 19 per cent, further meeting the demand on the route and demonstrating the growth of Mauritius as a global destination.

It allows an additional 165 passengers each day to travel to this beautiful island set in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

”Our daily A380 service into Mauritius has enjoyed exceptional popularity since its launch on December 16th 2013, with more than 150,000 passengers having flown our flagship aircraft to the paradise island during this time,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates senior vice president, commercial operations, Latin America, Central and Southern Africa.

”The launch of a double daily A380 service to Mauritius will further strengthen our support for the country’s tourism industry and we are certain that hoteliers and operators will welcome this initiative,” he added.

Services between Dubai and Mauritius and vice versa is operated in codeshare with Emirates’ long-time partner Air Mauritius.

“Since September 2002, Air Mauritius has been placing their marketing codes on all Emirates services operated between Dubai and Mauritius and will continue to do so with the commencement of the second A380 operation.

“In December 2013 the codeshare partnership was expanded to include several points beyond Dubai, and over the last few months the two airlines have been in discussions to enhance the relationship and increase the number of destinations covered by the codeshare agreement,” said Abbas.

The addition of this second iconic aircraft on the route opens up further opportunities for travellers to connect seamlessly on an Emirates A380 between Mauritius and a range of global destinations on Emirates’ growing network that now serves 143 gateways in 81 countries.

The upgraded A380 service leaves Dubai as EK703 at 10:00, arriving at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport at 16:45.

It returns as EK704 leaving Mauritius at 23:00, landing at Dubai International Airport at 05:40 the following day.

Emirates is the first airline in the world to operate an A380 service to a destination in the Indian Ocean.

The airline currently has 49 A380s serving 26 destinations around the world, more than any other airline globally.