In keeping with the spirit of Ramadan, Emirates last evening hosted several of its Ugandan partners to an Iftar at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel.
The event which kicked off at 7:00pm started with prayers in a specially prepared room before the Iftar was served to the guests who included various dignitaries, businessmen and government representatives.
Welcoming the guests to the Iftar, Emirates Airline Country Manager, ThaniAlansari noted that Ramadan is a special time for the Moslem community world over and in Uganda.
“Traditionally, Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together.”
“This is the reason we are gathered here today, as one community, with our customers, regional market representatives and partners,” Alansari added.
Emirates offers Iftar service this Ramadan– Emirates has also introduced several initiatives to ensure the well-being and comfort of its customers observing the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
In keeping with traditions and values of this important religious occasion, Emirates has developed a special Iftar meal service. For flights departing close to Iftar, the meal eaten by Muslims to break their fast after sunset every day during Ramadan, Emirates will provide small snack boxes at the boarding gates of Emirates Terminal 3, while large Iftar meal boxes will be served to passengers in-flight. The large Iftar meal box, designed by Emirates’ chefs, will be served in Economy class, with a similar selection served to fasting passengers in both Business Class and First Class.
Additionally, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for Imsak (the time to commence fasting) and Iftar while in-flight. Emirates developed the tool, an industry-first, in conjunction with the Dubai Astronomy Group. The tool allows Emirates to calculate the exact Ramadan timings using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude and altitude; ensuring the greatest level of accuracy possible while onboard. For example, customers who are in-flight when the sun sets will be informed of the Iftar time by the captain. Iftar will be determined based on where the aircraft is located at the time the sun goes down. This new tool was developed to supplement Emirates’ annually produced booklet on the timings for Ramadan, available on every flight.
Non-fasting passengers travelling on regular or Umrah flights to Madinah and Jeddah will receive a cold meal instead of the regular hot meal for all flights taking off after sunrise and before sunset, to respect the many Muslim passengers completing Umrah on these flights.
During the holy month of Ramadan, Emirates’ award-winning ice system will feature special Arabic programming including two new big hits from Khaleejy – KasrKhawaterand Mahol as well as four box sets of the following: Loubat Al Mout, Share’ 90, Darb Al Zalag and Abu Al Malayeen. These are in addition to 26 channels of movies, 13 channels of TV programming and the popular classic plays, QanasKhaytan and Forsan Al Monakh.
Emirates would like to wish all our Muslim passengers Ramadan Kareem.