A flypast by an Emirates Airbus A380 is planned as part of celebrations to mark the arrival of the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 at its new home in Dubai later this month.
The QE2 left Southampton, UK, on her last voyage yesterday. She is due to arrive in Dubai after a passage through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal on 26 November where she will eventually be preserved as an attraction alongside a specially constructed dock at the Palm Jumeirah island.
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© Max Kingsley-Jones |
According to Emirates, a major event is planned to celebrate her arrival in Dubai. When she arrives at the Gulf port, she will be greeted by a flotilla of boats and ships led by the world's largest yacht, the Dubai, owned by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. Topping off the arrival celebrations will be a flypast by one of Emirates' newly-delivered A380s.
The ceremony echoes that for the RMS Queen Mary off the coast of California 40 years ago as she steamed towards her new home at Long Beach in December 1967. The ship was greeted by a DC-9 flown from the nearby Douglas Aircraft plant, which dropped red and white carnations on her decks.
Source: Flight International
