Emirates’ first A380 touches down at Ortia

The decision to fly bigger aircraft between South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to boost trade between the two countries while also opening up major opportunities for Africa, according to Jean Luc-Grillet, Emirates Airlines senior vice president commercial operations Africa. Last week saw the arrival of the first scheduled Emirates A380 Airbus at OR Tambo International Airport to commence its daily service between Johannesburg and Dubai. This is the airline’s first A380 destination in Africa and its 16th globally. “Our expansion into Africa demonstrates our commitment to support emerging economies, and this is further supported by the announcement of the 20th and 21st African destinations to Harare and Lusaka,” said Grillet. “We foresee that the increased capacity offered by the A380 will support an alreadythriving trade relationship between South Africa and the UAE, worth around $1.8 billion a year.” This is despite the A380’s 50% reduction on payload. To counter this, the airline in September announced its second freighter service between Johannesburg and Dubai that flies every Thursday.