Emirates launches world’s shortest superjumbo flight

The one-hour flight will fly twice a day from Dubai to Muscat from July 1

Emirates will run the world's shortest super jumbo flight from Dubai to Muscat. Courtesy Emirates 

Emirates will run the world’s shortest flight on the biggest commercial plane available from July 1.

Flying from Dubai to Muscat twice per day, the A380 flight to the Omani capital will have an in-air time of around one hour. The distance between the two cities is 340 kilometres.

The aircraft will be configured with 429 economy seats on the lower deck. Upstairs, there will be 76 business class flatbed seats and 14 first class private suites, meaning more than 2,000 passengers will be able to fly the route each day.

Passengers flying on Emirates flight EK862 will leave Dubai at 8.25am, landing in Muscat by 9.40am. The return flight will depart Oman at 11.15am and land in the UAE at 12.25pm.

A second daily flight will depart Dubai at 4.10 pm and land in Muscat by 5.25 pm. The return leg will leave Muscat at 7.05pm, and land in Dubai by 8.15pm.

The twice daily flights will run over the summer period until around late October, when the winter schedule will commence.

Last year, also on July 1, Emirates made a one-off landing in Muscat with an A380 to mark 25 years of flying to the Omani capital. That flight also confirmed Muscat International Airport's readiness to handle the world’s largest passenger plane.

Another first for an Emirates superjumbo

Emirates marked another first this week.  On Saturday, June 1 the inaugural A380 flight from Dubai to Amman landed in Jordan. The airline has been flying to the Jordanian capital for over 33 years, and has carried over 5 million passengers to and from the country. The first scheduled service for the summer season was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute. The Emirates A380 will operate until 26 October 2019 to Amman, covering the busy summer season.

The longest A380 flight

Emirates already operates the world’s longest A380 route on its Dubai to Auckland flight path. That flight takes 17 hours, five minutes flying from New Zealand’s North Island back to the UAE.

The world's shortest flight

The world's shortest superjumbo flight is still much longer than the world's shortest commercial flight which can be completed in just 47 seconds.

Loganair operate the route between two of Scotland's Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray. The official flight duration is two minutes, but with ideal wind conditions the trip can be completed in 47 seconds.