Emirates adds Mashhad as second gateway to Iran from 1 Sept.

Saturday, 11 July 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emirates, a global connector of people, places and economies has announced that it will launch a new service to Mashhad, Iran from 1 September, marking its second gateway into the country.

Emirates will operate to Mashhad with five weekly services utilising an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Commercial Operations Centre Divisional Senior Vice President Sheikh Majid Al Mualla said: “Mashhad’s addition to our global network will enable us to provide flexibility and choice for customers creating new inbound and outbound markets for tourism. We look forward to boosting traffic in and out of Mashhad and drawing in visitors from a host of points across our global network including cities in Europe, India, Pakistan, the GCC, as well as Far East destinations like Bangkok.”

Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran and attracts more than two million foreign visitors per year. Due to its proximity to Central Asian countries, Mashhad hosts numerous international exhibitions each year and is the second most active exhibition centre after Tehran. Last year, Emirates carried more than half a million passengers to and from Iran. The country also has 17 UNESCO-registered world heritage sites and plans to boost its total Travel and Tourism contribution to GDP to $ 8.9 billion by 2024 (7.5% of GDP), according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

Emirates services to Mashhad will depart on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from Dubai as EK967 at 0410 hrs arriving at Mashhad International Airport at 0700 hrs. The return flight, EK968 will depart Mashhad International Airport at 0845 hrs arriving in Dubai at 1045 hrs. Services will be operated by a combination of a three class and two class configured A330-200.

Timings have been scheduled to facilitate convenient onward connections via Dubai from points in the GCC, India and major cities like Bangkok in the Far East. Furthermore, the new flights introduce convenient connections from major European cities such as Stockholm and points across the UK, homes to some of the largest Iranian communities in the world.

Travellers from Mashhad will be able to easily connect to popular leisure destinations such as Istanbul and Bangkok, as well as thriving business destinations in India, Europe and the Far East.

In addition to passenger operations, Emirates SkyCargo will offer 17 tonnes of cargo capacity each way between Dubai and Mashhad on the A330-200. Popular commodities are expected to be saffron, nuts, fruits, leather and personal effects.

Emirates’ launch of Mashhad will follow the launch of Multan in Pakistan on 1 August and will coincide with the launch of Orlando, which also launches on 1 September. It will then be followed by the launch of Bologna on 3 November.