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Emirates lands in Cebu for the first time

Emirates Airlines has recently launched its daily Dubai-Cebu-Clark-Dubai flights, much to the delight of Cebuanos in the UAE and of tourists wanting to visit the pristine beaches of the province.

Emirates’ first Cebu-bound flight EK 338 left Dubai at 02:55am (UAE time) on March 30 and arrived in Mactan-Cebu International Airport at 3:30pm (PH Time), landing 20 minutes earlier than expected.

The new direct flights will allow Cebu-bound passengers to save roughly 2 to 4 hours’ travel time compared to the time it takes to board connecting flights from Dubai to Manila to Cebu, according to First Officer Walter Friday Brigoli who co-piloted the inaugural flight. A number of Filipino cabin crew was also on board, including the Head Crew Ariane Antig.

The arrival of the first flight was welcomed by a ceremonial water salute followed by a press conference, graced by Secretary Jun Abaya of the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications.

Secretary Abaya acknowledged how Emirates Airlines has been forging the strong relationship between the Philippines and the UAE, further strengthening trade and tourism in Cebu with its new flights.

“Emirates is the first airline with two domestic landing points in the Philippines,” Abaya pointed out.

Emirates Senior Vice President Badr Abbas stressed how the company has always looked for ways to promote the Philippines and the Filipino culture, considering that many of their employees and passengers are Pinoys.

“Emirates has been helping Filipino companies to export products from Philippines to Central Asia, Middle east, Europe and Africa,” Abbas said.

Emirates also has more than 3,000 Filipino staff, including more than 1,000 cabin crew members. It has also been serving the famous Adobo and some other authentic Filipino delicacies on board Philippine-bound flights. Flight information is also translated into Filipino and Cebuano.

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