Passengers from around the world cross new Dubai-Prague bridge

Emirates lived up to its name as the international airline of the UAE after passengers from more than 20 countries joined its first flight to Prague.
Travellers from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, South Korea - and as far afield as Australia - were amongst those on board yesterday's inaugural.
The airline is providing the only daily, non-stop passenger service to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic and site of the famous Charles Bridge, straddling the Vltava River.
Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, who headed the Emirates' delegation on the first flight, said: "Prague is our second European route launch this year after Amsterdam on 1st May and our 103rd destination globally.
The Czech Republic is a popular tourist destination and an exciting emerging market. The route is off to a good start with passengers joining the inaugural flight to Prague from more than 20 countries across the world, underscoring the hub role of Dubai and the boost this new link will provide to the Czech tourism industry.
Mr Clark added: "With a fleet of 149 aircraft including 11 A380s, we continue to drive forward with our expansion plans and more new routes are on the way. Madrid starts up 1st August and Dakar in Senegal begins a month after that."
More than 300 guests were invited to a special gala dinner at Prague's Municipal House where Michael Bolton headed up the entertainment. Guests also enjoyed New York's String Angels and the Czech National Symphonic Orchestra.
EK 139 leaves Dubai daily at 1030hrs and arrives in Prague at 1450hrs. EK 140 departs from Prague at 1620hrs and gets into Dubai at 0010hrs the following day.
An Airbus A330-200 aircraft is being deployed for the service, offering up to 278 seats across Business and Economy.
Trade between the Czech Republic and the UAE has leapt from under US$26 million (Dh95 million) in 1993 to US$678 million (Dh2.4 billion) in 2008, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry.
Nearly 30% of exports to the UAE are glass products including Czech-made Bohemian glass. Aside from glass, Czech exports include electrical equipment, jewellery, beverages, data processing devices, machine tools, cars and car parts.
Emirates SkyCargo has served Prague until now by moving goods by road via Vienna. The new non-stop service provides extra capacity in the belly hold of the passenger flights, bringing more flexibility over the movement of goods. – Emirates News Agency, WAM