Thursday 21 January 2016

CONGO: Congolese Airline To Launch Dubai Flights

Congolese national airline Equatorial Congo Airlines has announced plans to launch commercial flights to Dubai at the end of next month

The carrier, also known as ECAir, launched its maiden flight to Dubai from Brazzaville on Wednesday night, carrying officials from the Republic of Congo.

The airline will start of a three times a week service between Dubai International and Brazzaville, Congo, from March 31, the airline said in a statement.

The new route will operate a Boeing 757 aircraft for the Monday, Thursday and Saturday flights, it added.

Airline chairman Jean Louis Osso said: "This is a historic event for ECAir because this will strengthen our Middle East network through one of the most important hubs in the world.

"This flight is the first direct connection from Brazzaville, Congo to the United Arab Emirates. The Middle East, particularly Dubai, is one of the most preferred destinations of travellers from Central Africa because it has so much to offer to both leisure and business travellers."

Helen Woodrow, vice president of Forecasting & Research at Dubai Airports added: "Africa is a fast growing market with huge potential and we are happy to welcome ECAir as an important link between the Republic of Congo and Dubai one that is sure to further boost tourism, trade and commerce between both markets."

According to the annual traffic report released recently by Dubai Airports, the world's second busiest hub for international passengers showed a 13 percent increase in 2013 in passenger traffic arriving from Africa.

ECAir has a fleet of five aircraft, and flies more than 300,000 passengers per year to seven destinations.

No comments: