Emirates brings back Iftar service for Ramadan

27 May 2016

Emirates is bringing back its Iftar service for travellers during the holy month of Ramadan, allowing those observing Ramadan to break their fast with a nutritious and balanced meal. The Iftar boxed have been redesigned and will be available across all cabin classes on select flights which include those to and from the Gulf region and Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina. The service has been a mainstay on Emirates flights for over 20 years and is available for the whole month of Ramadan expected to begin on 6 June this year.

Emirates Iftar service and menu

The boxes feature a new look with a clean and modern Arabesque design inspired by the region. This year’s Ramadan boxes will have a new menu designed by Emirates’ chefs. These menus feature a Middle Eastern flavour, while remaining distinctly global, and will be refreshed mid-Ramadan. The Iftar box includes options such as za’atar chicken with hummus, spinach fatayer, halloumi cheese and cucumber sandwiches, traditional sweets such as mammoul and dates, as well as yoghurt.

Emirates utilises a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for Imsak (the time to commence fasting) and Iftar while in-flight. It calculates the exact Ramadan timings using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude, and altitude, ensuring the greatest level of accuracy possible while onboard. When the sun sets, passengers will be informed of the Iftar time by the captain. This tool was developed to supplement Emirates’ annually produced booklet on the timings for Ramadan, available on every flight.

A snack box will also be provided at boarding gates allowing customers to break their fast prior to boarding or while boarding. The snack boxes will feature pastries like cheese fatayer and Arabic sweets like baklava and will be served for flights departing close to Iftar at Emirates’ hub in Dubai International Airport Terminal 3. On certain routes, these boxes will be offered to customers prior to Imsak.

Both variations of boxes will feature a box of dates, symbolic of Ramadan. During the holy month, cold meals will be served in lieu of a hot one on all flights to Jeddah and Medina, including Umrah day flights.

Emirates’ ice system will feature popular movies such as Zinzana and Omar wa Salwa. These are in addition to 49 Arabic movies, 19 channels of Arabic TV programming, and 94 Arabic audio channels, including the Holy Quran channel.