Emirates has announced it is to fly to Dakar from September as the airline continues to forge links with Senegal.
According to Emirates, it is the first time Senegal has had a direct link to the UAE. The news comes just months after the Emirates Group agreed to support the fledgling Senegal Airlines, due to take to the air later this year.
The five-times weekly Dubai-Dakar route will be served by a 267-seat A340-300 offering three classes (12 in First, 42 Business and 213 Economy - to see the seatplan click here).
Emirates flight 797 will leave Dubai International Airport at 0955 every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It will arrive at Dakar's Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport at 1600 the same day. The return flight will leave Dakar at 1740, arriving in Dubai at 0715 the following day.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ CEO and chairman, welcomed Dakar as the airline’s 19th African destination and hailed the new route as a “significant step” towards closer collaboration between the two nations.
Emirates said cargo space onboard the new service would be used to support “key Senegalese exports” such as fish, fruit and vegetables destined for the Mediterranean.
Currently no airlines fly direct to Dakar from Dubai, however Kenya Airways and Turkish Airlines fly between the two via their respective hubs at Nairobi Kenyatta International and Istanbul-Ataturk.
While there are no direct flights between Dakar and the UK, a number of carriers fly direct to Dakar from destinations in Europe such as Air France from Paris CDG and TAP Portugal from its hub at Portela airport in Lisbon.
For more information visit emirates.com.
Report by Andrew Gough
