While part of its team was in Abu Dhabi celebrating its Highly Commended award in the Asian region of the World Routes Airport Marketing Awards, senior executives at Melbourne Airport were marking an important day in the airport’s development as it welcomed the arrival of Emirates Airline’s first Airbus A380 flight into the Australian gateway.
At the start of October, the Middle East airline boosted capacity on its Dubai – Melbourne – Auckland link by replacing a 354-seat Boeing 777-300ER on the route with a 517-seat Airbus A380. The upguage follows just over two years after the carrier switched from a 258-seat A340-500 to the 777, due to increasing demand.
Speaking following the arrival of the first scheduled A380 flight into Melbourne from Emirates Airline, Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer, Chris Woodruff was in naturally high spirits. “I was thrilled to watch the inaugural Emirates A380 service touch-down, further strengthening our close relationship. Emirates is a valued customer of Melbourne Airport, and the new A380 services to Auckland and Dubai confirm Melbourne’s position as a key global destination,” he said.
Emirates Airline launched flights to Melbourne in 1996 and the city was its first destination in Australia. Melbourne Airport has experienced strong international passenger growth over the last few years and its curfew free status has been a key factor, which combined with our single terminal precinct, provides airlines and passengers flexibility and convenience.
“Melbourne was the first major Australian airport to be A380 ready and we continue to invest in our facilities to enhance services, including recently opening two additional international gates and upgrading our aerobridges to accommodate more A380s,” added Chris Woodruff. “In addition, within our international arrivals area, we opened two new A380-capable baggage reclaim units and added more processing space for the border agencies.”
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