Emirates launches world's shortest A380 route

The arrival of the upgraded EK857 service, which touched down at Kuwait International Airport yesterday, marks 25 years of Emirates’ flights to the country.
“This is a proud moment for the airline,” said Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, commercial operations who was aboard the inaugural flight from Dubai. “We have gradually built up our services to Kuwait since 1989 and we now offer five daily flights, soon to become six. After experiencing the airline’s award winning products and services over the years, travellers to and from Kuwait can now enjoy our flagship aircraft, the most popular commercial aircraft flying today.”
The Emirates’ A380 flight to Kuwait is just one hour and 45 minutes, the shortest A380 service in operation today. Since 2008, the airline has carried 27.5 million travellers on its now 50 A380s.
Kuwait is only the second market in the Middle East to be served by the airline’s flagship aircraft after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
EK857 leaves Dubai at 1600hrs and arrives in Kuwait at 1645hrs local time. EK858 departs Kuwait at 1825hrs and lands in Dubai at 2110hrs.
Over the 25 years of service , around 7.8 million passengers have been carried on the Kuwait route. In the past five years alone, Emirates SkyCargo, has moved over 140 million kilogrammes of commodities, further supporting the Kuwait economy.
Imports have included meat, fruits, vegetables, clothing, pharmaceuticals and construction equipment, while mobile phones, watches, drilling equipment and tyres have featured amongst the exports.

Pictured: Mohammed Al Nahari, Emirates Manager in Kuwait, speaking yesterday at Kuwait International Airport after the arrival of an Emirates’ A380.