Emirates has unveiled a livery featuring the UAE flag across the fuselage of one of its Airbus A380 aircraft, in a move the airline says is a tribute to the unity and strength of the nation.
The livery, applied to aircraft A6-EVG, features the colours of the UAE in a 3D design that runs across both sides of the aircraft. The A380 is the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft.
The initiative forms part of Emirates’ ‘This Flag Will Always Fly’ campaign, which the airline launched in response to a nationwide call by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed had called on all citizens and residents to raise the UAE flag as a unifying symbol, describing it as a shared responsibility during recent challenges facing the nation.
Emirates paints UAE flag across A380 fuselage in ‘This Flag Will Always Fly’ campaign
“We’re proud to respond to HH Sheikh Mohammad’s call to raise the flag as a tribute to the UAE’s unity and strength. Since our inception, every Emirates aircraft has proudly carried the UAE flag wherever it flies. This new livery is our way of honouring a home that has given us so much, and a nation that stands as proof of what is possible when we collectively choose, every day, to reach higher. There is no greater stage for our flag than in the skies, and no greater privilege for Emirates than to fly it with pride,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group said in a statement.
The aircraft has already operated services to New York and Brisbane and is scheduled to fly to further destinations across the Emirates A380 network, bringing the livery to runways, skies and cities around the world.
Plans are also under way to apply the flag design to an Emirates Boeing 777, which is the next largest commercial airliner after the A380.
The UAE flag is already a fixture on every Emirates aircraft, appearing on the tails of the airline’s fleet as it operates across continents, time zones and cultures.
The new livery joins a line of designs the airline has commissioned to mark national events and commemorations. In 2017, Emirates featured a decal of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, on its 100th A380, with ten aircraft flying that design as part of the ‘Year of Zayed’.
That same year, the airline also revealed the first of 40 aircraft carrying livery designs dedicated to Expo 2020 Dubai.
