As part of its annual Ramadan service, Emirates offers a specially curated meal served in ready-to-eat boxes to customers fasting during the holy month. This year, the airline’s in-house designers and product design team collaborated with local artists to produce bespoke designs for a special edition of its signature Ramadan service.

The artists, based in Dubai, have disabilities and are known as people of determination in the UAE in recognition of their achievements in different fields. The designs were created during a collaborative session at a local art studio, held before the pandemic started. During the workshop, the team and the artists spent the day together sharing what Ramadan meant to them which provided inspiration for the artwork. Watch the video here.

The artists were formerly from an art studio called Mawaheb from Beautiful People. Meaning ‘talent’ in Arabic, Mawaheb was a Dubai-based art studio for adults with special needs. The studio unfortunately had to shut its doors after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The specially designed boxes showcase the creativity and talent of people of determination from Dubai to the world.

Emirates’ Ramadan service

Emirates’ signature Ramadan service has been a mainstay for over 20 years and illustrates the airline’s commitment to providing customers a comfortable journey throughout the holy month, expected to begin on 13 April. Customers breaking their fast on board or about to start fasting will be offered the special edition boxes with a nutritional meal. Each box consists of a main such as the chicken, cauliflower and eggplant salad with tahini and mouhammara or a baked potato and onion salad with Morroccan chicken and hummus; sandwiches, Arabic bread, dates, laban and water. The iftar boxes are served in addition to the usual Emirates meal services on board and the menu will be refreshed weekly.

These special meals are available to passengers across all cabin classes on select Emirates flights that coincide with iftar or suhoor times. This includes flights to and from the Gulf region as well as flights catering to Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina during the month 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’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, will feature special religious programming for Ramadan as part of its catalogue of 4,500 channels of on-demand entertainment. Customers can choose from programmes such as La Alahom Yaflahoon, a cultural and religious show presented by Sheikh Abdullah Musa or La Yadbaro Ayatoh which delves into some of the meanings from the Qur’an, presented by Dr Othman Al Khamis. There are also Arabic podcasts such as Al San’a by Abdulla Hamdan bin Dalmook which sheds light on the daily life and traditional etiquette of the people of the UAE and Al Mtwassf – Part 1, a collection of proverbs and adages reflecting the wisdom and history of the forefathers of the UAE. The Holy Qur’an is also available on ice.

Emirates’ airport lounges in Dubai will be serving Arabic coffee, dates, sweets and lentil soup during the holy month. Customers waiting to board will also be provided with water and dates at the gate during iftar and suhoor times.

Eid celebrations on board and on the ground

To mark the end of the holy month, Emirates is also serving a special Eid menu on flights to and from the Gulf region from 13-16 May. In First and Business Class, customers can expect traditional Middle Eastern dishes like Mashwi Al Jider or Lamb Kofta with saffron tomato sauce and zereshk rice. Customers in Economy can enjoy Aish Al Saraya or sago pudding garnished with dates.

Customers who wish to purchase Eid gifts can enjoy 15% off most products available in the EmiratesRED inflight retail catalogue available on most flights.

The Ramadan service and Eid celebrations on board and on the ground are part of Emirates’ commitment to enhance the customer experience with unique and seasonal offerings.

Emirates customers can travel with peace of mind with the airline’s flexible booking options and multi-risk travel insurance including COVID-19 cover with every flight. Emirates has also implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees.

For more information visit the COVID-19 information hub.