A new chapter in scheduled service at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL) began on Thursday December 15, 2016, with the arrival at just after 10:30am of the first Emirates flight, EK213, a Boeing 777-200LR after the 15+ hour nonstop flight from Dubai. With the opening of this new destination, Fort Lauderdale became the airline’s eleventh US destination. This flight is also Fort Lauderdale’s first scheduled passenger flight to use the Boeing 777.
During the welcome ceremonies for the flight, Mark Gale, CEO and Director of Aviation at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport called the commencement of this flight a “game changer”. He added, “FLL is proud to welcome Emirates, one of the world’s premiere airlines to Broward County. This new service to Dubai, and ultimately to the rest of the world, will provide our community with tremendous business and travel opportunities. With an estimated annual economic impact to our region of more than $100 million and approximately one thousand new jobs as a direct and indirect result of Emirates arrival, we are confident this new service will mark the beginning of many more great things to come.”
Broward County Mayor Barbara Sharief said “The Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the United States, servicing more than 29 million passengers this year. We are proud to partner with Emirates Airline as together we make history by offering the first non-stop flight service from South Florida to the Middle East and beyond. Broward County is a leading destination market for tourists and an economic hub for businesses large and small. We have recently invested $2.4 billion to expand and renovate our airport to insure world class service now and in the future.”
Emirates Management was represented by Hubert Frach, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Western Hemisphere who admitted to being a little speechless with the volume of the welcome to Emirates’ 154th world wide destination. He added “Our new daily service to Fort Lauderdale will significantly enhance South Florida’s commercial and cultural connections. Emirates is proud to connect people across the globe and today’s inaugural flight illustrates the reach of our global network and the potential tourism and trade opportunities of our daily service.
The launch of this historic route will allow us to offer Emirates’ unique product and award-winning service to passengers flying to and from South Florida to our home in Dubai and onwards to more than 150 global destinations.”
The return flight, EK214 departs Fort Lauderdale at 8:20pm local time for the just over 14 hour return flight. The flight arrives in Dubai at 7:40pm local time the next day. The new flights are scheduled for daily operation.
Mark Lawrence is a NYCAviation staff member and a south Florida-based aviation fanatic. He has been around the industry since he was a small boy. As well as being an avid photographer, he also runs his own blog. Follow him on Twitter.
About the Author
