• ​Emirates Airbus A380 service touches down at Perth Airport
• 489-seat aircraft to fly daily between Perth and Dubai

Western Australia will officially welcome its first regular Airbus A380 service when Emirates flight EK420 lands at Perth Airport this afternoon.

Tourism Minister Kim Hames, who will greet the aircraft, said the airline would fly the 489-seat plane daily between Perth and Dubai.

“Emirates is a lead carrier between Europe and Western Australia, so the arrival of their daily A380 service between Perth and Dubai speaks volumes about the attraction of this State as a tourism destination,” Dr Hames said.

“The cabin space and sound dampening of the Airbus A380 is extremely popular with passengers, especially over long-haul flights.

“Emirates’ introduction of this aircraft on the Perth-Dubai route means passengers from more than 35 cities across the globe can now start and end their journey to WA on one of the most spacious aeroplanes in the sky, and we hope this encourages more international visitors.”

The Minister said attracting more international visitors was an important part of the State Government’s strategy to grow the value of tourism to $12 billion by 2020.

“Tourism generates about 94,000 jobs and contributes more than $8.3 billion to the State’s economy through visitor spend, making the industry crucial to WA’s economic future,” he said.

“Emirates is the airline of choice in some of WA’s biggest markets, connecting Perth with Europe and major cities in the USA, so it’s vital that visitors from these markets feel they have comfortable and convenient access to WA.”

        Fact File

• Emirates A380 service flight EK420 arrives at Perth Airport at 5.35pm on Friday, May 1
• Emirates is the lead carrier in the UK and Germany with 32% and 20% market shares respectively for traffic to WA
• For more information, visit http://www.emirates.com/au