Emirates, Etihad, flydubai, Air Arabia and Al Fursan recently took to the skies to celebrate the UAE’s 47th National Day, as well as commemorate the legacy and values of Sheikh Zayed, the late founding father of the UAE.
The flight formation aimed to showcase the country’s aviation success story to the nation and world.
The spectacular flypast — a world-first and a UAE civil aviation milestone — involved over 11 aircraft: a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 (Zayed 1), an Air Arabia Airbus A320 (Zayed 2), an Etihad Airways Airbus A380 (Zayed 3) and an Emirates Airline Airbus A380 (Zayed 4), as well as seven Al Fursan aerobatic display jets from the UAE Air Force. All of the commercial aircraft within the formation were emblazoned with ‘Year of Zayed’ decals. This was also the first time this unique combination of aircraft types flew in unison.
The aircraft were proudly commanded by Captain Adrian Smith from flydubai, Nadhem Al Hamad from Air Arabia, Captain Richard Dyson from Etihad Airways and Captain Abbas Shaban from Emirates Airline. The Al Fursan team was led by Lieutenant Colonel Nasser Al Obaidli.
