Emirates Post, the UAE’s national post service, today (October 9) celebrated ‘World Post Day’ by partnering with Al Mahatta Museum to commemorate the first aircraft to land in Sharjah in 1932.

Hanno Airplane carried passengers and Air Mail to the UAE in a maiden voyage connecting Sharjah with the rest of the world, said a statement from Emirates Post.
 
Sultan Al Midfa, acting on behalf of group CEO of Emirates Post Group, said: “We have chosen to celebrate World Post Day through the celebration of a significant moment in postal and aviation history.”

“Hanno was the first-ever aircraft to carry passengers and Air Mail to the UAE; a significant moment in the social history of the emirates. Not only did this service open the UAE up to the rest of the world, but this was also a key moment in the economic development of the country,” he said.
 
“World Post Day celebrates the role postal services play in the everyday lives of people and businesses as well as its contribution to global and social development. I can think of no better way to celebrate this than by celebrating Hanno. After all, this is where it all began for international post in the UAE,” he concluded.
 
To mark this historic milestone in the nation’s history, a celebratory event took place at the Museum. Sultan Al Midfa discussed the importance of World Postal Day and the future of the industry in the UAE and beyond.

Following this, Khaled Omaira, vice president of the Emirates Philatelic Association, marked the occasion with a few words on the history of postal services in the UAE and its contribution to the long-term development of the emirates.  

The event was also attended by Abdullah Khouri, president of the Emirates Philatelic Association and respective representatives from the Ministry of Education, Emirates Post Group, the International Letter Writing competition winners’ schools, and Al Mahatta Museum.
 
World Post Day – which celebrates the creation of Universal Post Union in 1874 – marks the special occasion by conducting the International Letter-Writing competition annually.

The competition recognises the talent within students from each participating country and awards winners with a monetary benefit and a chance to compete at an international global level. The winners of this year’s competition held in UAE, in line with the ‘Year of Zayed’ theme, were announced at the World Post Day celebration at Al Mahatta Museum.

Coming in first place, Khadija Mohamad Abdullah Hassan Al Housani and Abdul Rahman Ali Bitaar. Followed by Yasmina Taher and Basmalah Mohamad Ahmed Zayed, in second and third place respectively.
 
Emirates Post’s World Postal Day event cements the organisation’s position as the leading postal service provider in the UAE, while highlighting the importance of its service, its history, and its constant effort to grow and help improve the community, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service