Emirates, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, will showcase one of its fleet of 31 Airbus A380s during celebrations which will be held to mark the 45th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Mauritius in March. This is the first commercial A380 flight that will have landed on the island.

Emirates has been flying to Mauritius since 2002 and usually operates the route using a Boeing 777-300 aircraft. In December 2012 the airline increased its timetable to Mauritius from 12 flights a week to a double daily service in response to growing demand.

The special flight is due to touchdown on 12th March 2013 as flight number EK 701 at 09.40. In addition to customers, it will also carry a specially invited group of VIP and media guests who will experience Emirates’ unique A380 inflight product and service to the island for the first time. Later that evening the return flight will depart at 23.20 as flight EK702.

“The A380 is the flag-ship of the Emirates fleet. We felt that by arranging this special flight it was a fitting way to support the official celebrations of the island’s independence,” said Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President Commercial, West Asia and Indian Ocean, Emirates.”  “Emirates believes in connecting people and so on this special day for the Mauritian people, it is pleasing to be able to bring even more visitors to the island.”

Emirates is the largest operator of the A380 with 31 aircraft in its fleet and 59 on order. In January 2013 it opened the world’s only dedicated and purpose-built A380 concourse at Dubai International Airport. With 528,000 m2 spread across eleven floors and the capacity to handle 15 million passengers a year, the concourse offers Emirates customers a seamless and unrivalled experience in terms of comfort, convenience and choice of facilities. Part of the airport’s Terminal 3 complex, Concourse A will become the “home of the Emirates A380”, from where passengers will be able connect to more than 20 Emirates A380 destinations around the world.