On Tuesday, October 2, 2018, the Emirates’ iconic A380 aircraft landed at Kotoka International Airport as the global airline joins Ghana Airports Company Limited in celebrating the opening of the airport’s new Terminal 3.
The one-off flight was operated by a Ghanaian, Capt. Solomon Quainoo and First Officer Bader Bin Adi, a UAE national. They were met on arrival by government officials and other stakeholders.
The airline’s flagship double-decker is the first-ever scheduled A380 service to Ghana, with Emirates partnering with the airport to test its operations and infrastructure to accommodate an A380 service.
Emirates commenced operations to Ghana in January 2004 and flies to Accra daily from Dubai. Close to 1.6 million passengers have flown the Dubai – Accra route since its start, with popular destinations being China, India and the United Kingdom via its Dubai hub. In 2017-18, Emirates transported over 6,300 tons of cargo to and from the country, supporting businesses and exporters. Main commodities exported from Ghana bound for the UAE and beyond to the Emirates network include fresh and cut fruits.
The Emirates A380 aircraft to Accra has a three-class configuration, with 426 seats in Economy Class on the main deck, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites on the upper deck.
Once the A380 reaches cruising altitude, passengers in the First Class can enjoy Private Suites, and Shower Spas, an Onboard Lounge for First Class and Business Class passengers that offers a wide range of drinks and canapés, as well as space to socialise or simply relax at 40,000 feet.
Passengers travelling on the main deck in Economy Class can enjoy stretching out in seats with a pitch of up to 33 inches. Passengers in all classes will enjoy Emirates’ multi award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, offering over 3,500 channels of on-demand entertainment. The largest selection of programming in the sky includes a broad selection of movies, shows, music and other programming from Africa, and up to 20MB complimentary on-board Wi-Fi.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Emirates A380. As the largest operator of the double-decker aircraft, Emirates currently has 104 A380s in service and 58 pending delivery, more than any airline globally.
See photos below.
