Emirates plans to send its special 50 years of the UAE livery to Bahrain on Wednesday. The flight will be operated to celebrate Bahrain's golden jubilee. Both countries have been celebrating 50 years since they were founded. The UAE's national day took place last week on December 2nd.

Emirates is one of the airlines well known for not shying away from a special livery. Be it from special liveries regarding protecting wildlife to large and small events sponsored by Emirates, the UAE flag carrier has put it all on the side of its planes, including its most ambitious livery yet celebrating Expo 2020.

A special flight to Bahrain

Bahrain will celebrate 50 years since its foundation this week, coming in the same month that the United Arab Emirates observes the same milestone. In honor of the UAE's 50th anniversary, Emirates applied special decals to several of its Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s to spread the message around the world.

Given the occasion in Bahrain, the airline today revealed that it will be flying an A380 to Bahrain bearing the special livery on December 15th. According to the airline, the flight will be operated as follows,

  • EK 839 - Dubai International (DXB) 16:05 - Bahrain International (BAH) 16:25
  • EK 840 - Bahrain International (BAH) 17:45 - Dubai International (DXB) 20:00
Emirates, Airbus A380, Bahrain
The flight from Dubai to Bahrain is just 300 miles. Photo: Cirium

Not the A380's first time in Bahrain

The 300-mile journey between Dubai and Bahrain is currently operated three times a day in each direction by Emirates. Except for the celebratory rotation planned for Wednesday, the remainder of services this month will be conducted by the slightly smaller Boeing 777.

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With that being said, the A380 has flown to Bahrain in the past, typically to celebrate special occasions, but also on a slightly larger basis earlier this year. According to schedule data from Cirium, the Emirates A380 first visited Bahrain on July 16th, 2015. One-off A380 flights were also operated on December 15th in 2017 and 2020. Earlier this year, the giant of the skies was also used on a regular daily service from June 7th to June 30th.

The world's A380 operator?

With the largest Airbus A380 fleet, Emirates is leading the way to restoring services with the giant of the skies. Later this week, the UAE giant is also expected to take delivery of the last ever Airbus A380, after its final test flight took place yesterday.

Emirates, Airbus A380, Deliveries
Emirates' final Airbus A380 delivery is expected later this week. Photo: Getty Images

Since the airline launched services with the type in 2008, the Dubai-based giants of the skies have flown to 77 airports worldwide, either for regularly scheduled flights or on a one-off basis like Wednesday's Bahrain service. The world's largest A380 operator won't be retiring over 120 A380s, including brand new jets, at short notice. Instead, the airline is expected to operate the giant of the skies through to the mid-2030s.

What do you make of Emirates' special flight for Bahrain's golden jubilee? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!