Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/973467
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL 2018 17 Events Emirates celebrates 20 years of service in Malta SINCE its first flight to Malta from Dubai on 30 March 1998, Emirates has carried nearly 900,000 passengers between Dubai and Malta. During this time it has enabled trade and tourism to the region and pro- vided a seamless daily link to the Far East and Australasia for Maltese travellers. Over the past five years alone, Emirates has carried close to 7,000 tonnes of cargo to and from Malta, with main imports being pharmaceuticals and fresh fish, while main exports include electrical components and pharmaceuticals. Emirates began its service to Malta via Athens with two weekly flights on an Airbus A300. In October 2005, the airline added two more flights, making the service four times weekly to Malta through Lar- naca, Cyprus. Underlining its commitment to Malta, Emir- ates in 2008 again increased flights to make it a daily ser- vice, as well as introducing a Boeing 777-300ER. Cur- rently, the Emirates operation to Malta carries over 2,500 passengers to and from the re- gion each week. Whilst thanking passengers and service providers for their support over the years, Emir- ates Country Manager in Mal- ta, Paul Fleri Soler, said the air- line was proud to have a created a daily connection for Maltese travelers to Dubai, the Far East and beyond, which continues to increase in popularity. "During the past 20 years, the airline has continued to reaf- firm its commitment to Malta by employing more Maltese nationals, moving the airline's area office to larger premises at MIA, introducing a Maltese menu to the airline's catering offering and steadily increasing its passenger and cargo capac- ity to the region to meet grow- ing demand," he said. "The Malta route is primarily an inbound one and the main inbound markets are Japan, Australia, the UAE, China and the Philippines while strong outbound markets are Dubai, Australia and leisure destina- tions in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean." With Emirates, Maltese trav- ellers can seamlessly connect via one stop at the airline's modern and convenient Dubai hub, to more than 150 desti- nations worldwide. The daily Malta-Larnaca-Dubai flight is operated by an Emirates Boe- ing 777-300ER aircraft in a three class cabin configura- tion, with eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spa- cious seats in Economy Class. Customers travelling on Emirates can look forward to the highest levels of care and comfort, from the warm hospi- tality of Emirates' multination- al cabin crew, including over 60 Maltese, to being entertained by ice, which offers up to 3,500 channels of on-demand audio and visual entertainment from the latest movies, music and games. Customers also enjoy chef prepared meals and compli- mentary beverages, while fam- ilies are also well catered for with dedicated products and services for children. To find out more information, or to book a flight on Emirates visit emirates.com/mt or con- tact your local travel agent. 6,700 volunteers and 93,000 individuals benefit from MAPFRE's volunteering initiatives Torun Symphony Orchestra concert with a Maltese theme DURING 2017 more than 6,700 MAPFRE volun- teers, employees and relatives worldwide par- ticipated in some 1,300 solidarity activities to help the most disad- vantaged and vulner- able people in society, with a participation rate that was 6% high- er than 2016. In Malta, MAPFRE is represent- ed by MAPFRE Mid- dlesea and MAPFRE MSV Life. MAPFRE's volun- teers dedicated their time to emergency action and assis- tance in the event of disasters as well as activities re- lated to nutrition, health and educa- tion. In total, MAP- FRE raised over €180,000 and more than 194,000kg of food last year, helping more than 93,000 people, pri- marily at risk of social exclusion, in 26 countries, through the vari- ous campaigns. One of the main volunteering ac- tivities was the assistance pro- vided to the vic- tims of hurricanes and earthquakes in Latin America and the Caribbean last year. Likewise, the global activities included the first MAP- FRE Volun- teer Day, with the slogan "All together for the Envi- ronment!", in which close to 50 activities related to the c o n s e r v a t i o n of the environ- ment were car- ried out. More than 1,500 trees were planted and close to 7,700 kg of waste were collected from beaches, forests, swamps and riv- ers. In addition, the "MAPFRE 24-Hour Dona- tion" campaign rolled out world- wide, timed to coincide with the World Blood Do- nor Day, has helped more than 7,000 pa- tients. The MAPFRE cor- porate volunteering programme is im- plemented through the Fundación MAP- FRE's VOLUNTEERS Program. Volunteer- ing is aligned with the Group's strategy and one of MAPFRE's main goals is to become a global benchmark in corporate solidarity. NATASHA Meli Daudey, Mal- ta's Ambassador to Warsaw, visited the UNESCO heritage city of Torun in the centre of Poland, Kujawsko-Pomorskie region last Friday. The high- light of her trip was repre- senting Malta as Honorary Patron of a delightful Torun Symphony Orchestra concert with a Maltese theme. Under the watchful baton of Maestro Brian Schembri, the Torun Symphony Orchestra played Brahms and Beethov- en as well as the Polish debut of the late Maestro Joseph Vella's magnificent Rebbieha. Vella retains an internation- al reputation as composer, conductor and educator, as well as a pioneer in the per- formance of Maltese Baroque music. Rooted in Maltese band club music, his Rebbie- ha is among his best-known orchestral compositions, with a powerful and vivid brass emphasis. Torun Symphony Orches- tra's Director Marek Czekała encouraged the Polish audi- ence to visit Malta, and not only during Valletta 2018. While visiting Torun (the birthplace of Nicolas Co- pernicus) Ambassador Meli Daudey held various meetings including one with the Mayor of Torun, Michal Zaleski. Maestro Brian Schembri and the Torun Symphony Orchestra