Dubai's national carrier Emirates has underlined its commitment to Zambia and Zimbabwe by making its new Dubai-Lusaka-Harare route a daily service starting from October 1.

The linked service, which currently operates five times a week, has performed strongly since its launch on 1st February this year, said a statement from Emirates.  To date, Emirates has carried over 43,000 passengers on this route, it added. 

“This latest boost to Emirates’ African network is testament to the continuous upward growth in demand for our flights to and from the continent,” said Jean Luc Grillet, senior VP of Commercial Operations for Africa.

“A daily service to Lusaka and Harare will mean greater choice for customers, while an increased cargo capacity of 40 per cent will facilitate more export business opportunities for both countries, forging greater trade links and increasing access to key trading partners in Asia and the Middle East.” 

Tourism is another key beneficiary, with Emirates’ Lusaka service supporting the Zambia Tourism Board’s target for increasing visitor arrivals by 22.5 per cent to one million visitors in 2012.

It is also expected that Emirates’ flights to Harare will support the Tourism Ministry’s projections that the sector will contribute over $5 billion to the Zimbabwean economy by 2015.

The Dubai-Lusaka-Harare service is operated by an A330-200 aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering 12 luxurious First Class seats, 42 seats in Business Class and generous space for 183 passengers in Economy Class.

The EK 713 will depart Dubai at 7.25am, arriving in Lusaka 2.35pm. The service then departs Lusaka at 4.20pm and lands in Harare at 5.20pm.

On return, the flight leaves Harare at 6.50pm, arriving in Lusaka at 7.50pm. It then departs Lusaka at 9.25pm and lands in Dubai at 6.40am the next day.

Emirates currently serves 21 passenger and cargo destinations across the African continent. A weekly cargo capacity of 224 tonnes and access to Emirates’ network of more than 120 destinations worldwide is already supporting a range of exports from both Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Key commodities being shipped from Lusaka and Harare include fresh flowers, fruit, vegetables and copper mining industry by-products.-TradeArabia News Service