Emirates launches daily flights to Abidjan

Dubai-based Emirates has introduced daily flights to Abidjan’s Cote D’Ivoire, a leading producer of cocoa and a key ingredient behind one of the world’s favourite treats, chocolate.

According to the airline, this comes just two years after Emirates whetted the appetite of travellers to Abidjan with a five times a week service, demand has called for operations to go daily.  Under the new schedule, the daily flight leaves Dubai each day at 0740hrs and arrives in Abidjan, Felix Houphouet Boigny Airport, at 1455 hrs.

Flights to and from Abidjan are being served by a 3-class Airbus A340-300, will make a quick stop in Accra, Ghana. Abidjan is one of the 15 destinations to which Emirates flies in Africa with most passengers flying in from Paris, Beirut, Accra, New York and Dubai.

The extra flights will be of particular benefit to passengers with connections to GCC countries, the wider Middle East and the Far East.

The airline officials said that the new daily service represents a further push by Emirates into West Africa and brings new support to business, international trade and passenger travel, while strengthening the country’s overall transport infrastructure. “The introduction of this daily service comes just weeks after we announced a double daily flight to Lagos from February 1. This is such an exciting continent for us and are delighted to be playing a part in its prolific growth,” an official added.

The West African nation, which has Guinea, Mali and Ghana amongst its neighbours, is one of the world’s major producers and exporters of cocoa beans, coffee and palm oil.  Abidjan is also a large commercial sea port, forming a gateway for the industrial world to and from Western Africa.

Emirates, supported by Emirates SkyCargo, has been flying to the African continent since 1986, the year after the airline was established. In just 23 years, the Dubai-based carrier has quickly grown into a major player on the aviation stage, boasting a 123-strong modern fleet, the world’s largest A380 order book and a six continent route network.