ISLAMABAD: Thirty-five years after he steered the first Emirates flight, Retired Capt. Fazal Ghani Mian says the success of the UAE flag carrier was and remains its competence and merit.
The first-ever Emirates flight, EK600, took off from Dubai to Karachi on October 25, 1985.
Recalling the airline’s birth and having observed its operations for over three decades, the former chief pilot of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who flew the Emirates Airbus A300 on its maiden trip, says the UAE flag carrier’s success lies in leadership that prioritizes competence.
“Emirates selects people on merit and they give them responsibility with authority,” he told Arab News in an interview this week. “No outside interference in their job. I am proud that I was a part of competent people who played a part in building Emirates airline from scratch.”
His involvement with Emirates was a result of PIA’s contract with Dubai to provide pilots, engineers and two aircraft to help establish the UAE airline.
“I came to Dubai on October 1, 1985 and met with Emirates Airline managing director Maurice Flanagan and their teams,” Mian said. “We discussed the tasks ahead related to the arrival of two aircraft to lay the foundation of the Emirates airline.”
An undated archival photo of Capt. Fazal Ghani Mian shows him during his service with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). (Photo courtesy: Capt. Fazal Ghani Mian)
“We used to discuss the progress every day and prepare reports and if there was any problem we found, we used to help each other solve that problem. And I am grateful to the great leadership of Sheikh Ahmed who was conducting these meetings,” he said, referring to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, the president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and founder of the Emirates Group.
The two aircraft were painted in Emirates colors at a PIA hangar in Karachi, all in secrecy. They were then flown to Dubai.
“On October 18, 1985 a team of engineers along with two aircraft arrived at Dubai airport with Emirates insignia. These aircraft were kept in a hangar at the far corner of the airport away from the public eye,” Mian said.
On October 23, 1985, the Pakistani-Emirati team had to operate five special VIP flights over Dubai.
#WATCH: Pakistani pilot who steered first #Emirates flight remembers birth of #UAE airline || #Pakistan @uaeembassyisb @emirates
-
Read special by @iSaimaShabbir: https://t.co/FIDATMxakW pic.twitter.com/DccGeYC8DY— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) October 30, 2020
“On October 22, we received some uniforms very late in the night,” the former captain said. “The laundry was closed but a young man working in the hotel took these uniforms and pressed it at his residence and brought it back around midnight.”
“I was praying that nothing bad happens,” Mian said. “The first flight of Airbus was around 11 o’clock and Sheikh Mohammed (Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum) and other royal dignitaries were sitting in that aircraft. We flew over Dubai for 45 minutes and we were escorted by Dubai air force fighter pilots.”
Two days later the UAE flag carrier took off on its first official flight.
“On October 25, we operated the first official flight to Karachi with top royal dignitaries of UAE and employees of Emirates airline on board,” Mian said.
The smooth beginning ended with a smooth landing.
“Landing was so smooth that nobody could realize that the aircraft had landed,” Mian said. “This was the beginning of Emirates.”
