With the upcoming weekend marking the official start of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Emirates will once again be offering its signature Ramadan services onboard and on the ground for its fasting passengers, helping them travel better and catering to their special needs during this important time.

Onboard from 2 April, customers breaking their fast across all cabin classes to select Emirates destinations can expect specially crafted, nutritionally balanced iftar meals served in bespoke boxes designed by the airline’s in-house designers in collaboration with local artists at Mawaheb Art Studio. The meals consist of freshly prepared grain-based cold salads and sandwiches accompanied with a variety of proteins, seedless dates, laban, water, mini Arabic bread, amongst other iftar essentials.

The boxes will be served on flights to select destinations during times that coincide with iftar or sohour, on 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. In addition, cold meals will be served in lieu of a hot one on all flights to Jeddah and Medina, including Umrah day flights.

The boxes have also been designed to conveniently take away if customers wish to do so. Emirates’ iftar box will be served to complement the airline’s regular hot meal service, which will include a traditional soup option for First Class passengers on select flights to break their fast. The box contents will be refreshed on a weekly basis to ensure a best-in-class dining experience for customers during the Holy Month.

To ensure the highest levels of accuracy for fasting Muslim passengers, Emirates uses a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak (the time to commence fasting) and iftar while in-flight, based on the times of the sunrise and sunset of the location the flight is passing by using the aircraft’s longitude, latitude and altitude.  When the sun sets, passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain.

For customers on the ground boarding during iftar and sohour times, trays of dates and water will be available at gates for several destinations. At the Emirates lounges in DXB, dates and coffee as well as delectable Arabic style sweets will be offered during Ramadan. Emirates lounges are also all equipped with dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities to ensure a peaceful environment for worship.

The airline has also fine-tuned its Ramadan programming, featuring special religious content in one special folder in its TV section on ice.  Customers can choose from programmes such as Fa E’lam Ena la Elah Ela Allah, Meythaq Al Hayat, Deen Al Tasamoh, Manaber Al Noor, Abwab Al Mutafareqa. The Holy Qur’an is also available on ice. The special Ramadan programmes are part of the diverse content available on board with more than 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment including 595 Arabic channels featuring movies, TV, podcasts, music, iconic Ramadan soap operas and dramas, and more.

Emirates also provides Ramadan awareness training for its cabin crew and on ground teams in Dubai and across its network.  Special training resources have been provided to ensure operational teams are aware of the basics of the Holy Month, understand the cultural significance and nuances of this time and recognise specific practices that Muslims engage in during fasting so they are prepared to provide the highest levels of service to customers at all touchpoints of their travel journey.

Customers travelling during Ramadan can rest assured that Emirates continues to work hard to deliver the safest and most comfortable experience in the sky, with the latest wellbeing measures in place at every step of their journey.

Emirates customers making journeys during the Holy Month are also encouraged to check the latest government travel guidelines and ensure they meet the travel requirements of their final destination.