Emirates celebrates 15 years of operations in Brazil

• Since 2007, airline has enjoyed rich history in Brazil marked with milestones
• Launched first direct flights from Arab world to South American continent
• Introduced the A380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft, to Latin America

Dubai, UAE - October 28, 2022: Emirates, the world's largest international airline, celebrates 15 years of connecting Brazil to Dubai and the rest of the world. Since October 2007, when Emirates launched its services to Brazil, more than 3.6 million passengers have enjoyed the airline’s services on flights to and from its two gateways in the country, Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. 

Emirates’ inaugural flight to Sao Paolo, EK261, made history by not only marking the airline’s foray into South America, but also made the Dubai-based airline a forerunner in connecting the Middle East and the continent. The airline introduced the first-ever non-stop flights to be offered by a carrier between the two vast regions, making Brazil the gateway into South America, including for travelers into Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Peru. In 2012, Emirates also began operations to its second gateway into Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.

Over the past decade and a half, Emirates’ commitment to the market, the development of the aviation industry and to Brazilian travelers exploring the world, has been relentless. As a key player in promoting tourism to the country, Emirates carried travelers into Brazil from top ten points of origin including mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to Japan, Thailand, South Korea, India, Lebanon, Philippines and Singapore. Top international destinations frequented by Emirates passengers from Brazil over the 15-year period followed similar trends.

The airline started its operations in São Paulo with six flights per week and in March 2017, Emirates operated the first commercial flight of an Airbus A380 to South America, landing at São Paulo International Airport. Emirates currently operates daily flights between São Paulo and Dubai, connecting passengers to more than 130 destinations in its worldwide network. Brazilians can visit Dubai hassle-free with visa on arrival.

Facilitator of trade

Emirates SkyCargo has also played an important role in connecting Brazil to the world, with the carrier having transported over 57,000 tonnes of exports since the start of operations, including foodstuff and perishable items, spare parts and pharmaceuticals. Over the same period, Emirates helped import over 62,000 tonnes of cargo into South America’s largest country with key commodities including electronics, mobile phones, pharmaceuticals and automotive spare parts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates Skycargo created the world's largest hub for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and was the first airline to transport doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccines to Brazil in January 2021.

Emirates’ cargo services and capabilities continue to facilitate the exchange of Brazilian goods and commodities on the global marketplace, supporting local businesses and the manufacturing industry over the years. In addition to the potential to reach more than 140 destinations in its cargo network, consumers from the Arab region have high spending power, significantly supporting the Brazilian economy.

Customer Experience and Network

Travellers flying with Emirates can enjoy the best experience in the sky with an unmatched culinary experience, thanks to regionally-inspired multi-course menus developed by a team of award-winning chefs and complemented by a wide selection of premium beverages. Customers can sit back and relax with more than 5,000 channels of carefully curated global entertainment content, including in Portuguese, featuring movies, TV shows, music, podcasts, games, audiobooks and more with ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system. First and Business Class passengers can also enjoy safely networking in the popular Onboard Lounge. 

Since 2016, Emirates and low-cost carrier GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) have provided customers of both airlines numerous travel benefits including access to additional destinations on both airlines’ networks as well as frequent flyer benefits for members of Skywards and GOL Smiles programmes.