Emirates welcomes quarter of millionth passenger on its Newcastle service

Emirates today welcomed the 250,000th passenger on its daily service operating between Newcastle and Dubai.

Peter Roeves, a retired engineer from Sunderland, received the VIP treatment when travelling with his wife Judith, to Dubai and onward to Perth, Australia, to visit his son, daughter-in-law and grand-daughter.

Mr Roeves said: “We travel to Australia regularly to see our family and being able to fly with Emirates directly from the region makes travelling much easier. Before Emirates started services, we had to fly via London and had some awful journeys.”

Emirates’ commenced its service from Newcastle in September 2007. The daily flight has been welcomed by holidaymakers and business travellers alike who are now able to travel directly from the region to Dubai and beyond to a network that spans six continents.

Laurie Berryman, Emirates Manager UK North, said: “A quarter of a million passengers in less than two years is a significant achievement. We are delighted and grateful for the support we have received from passengers and cargo shippers from across the region.”

The service has opened up a wide range of destinations for travellers from the North East, with the airline’s new, dedicated Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport, designed for quick and efficient transfers to onward flights.

Emirates’ most popular destinations beyond Dubai for North East travellers include Bangkok, Perth, Mauritius and Kuala Lumpur.

Dave Laws, Chief Executive of Newcastle International Airport, said: “The Emirates service has gone from strength to strength since the airline started operations here nearly two years ago. In that time, they have provided North East customers with fast and convenient connections to destinations across the world.

“The route has played a vital role in supporting the region’s business community and will be instrumental in helping the North East emerge from the current recession. We congratulate Emirates on this impressive milestone and look forward to seeing them reach the half a million mark before too long!”

Cargo volumes on the service are also growing strongly and have just passed the three million kilo mark.