Captain Fazle Ghani Mian, the pilot at the controls of flight EK600 on October 25, 1985, has shared his memories of that  inaugural Emirates service to Karachi, and the subsequent growth of the airline in a video released by Emirates.

Emirates’ first aircraft - an Airbus A300 B4 and a Boeing 737 - arrived in Dubai on October 20 on wet lease from Pakistan International Airlines, and Captain Mian was amongst that pioneering team involved in the successful launch of Emirates’ inaugural services.

In a short video message, he said: “I came to Dubai on October 1, 1985 and met with HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and then Emirates Airline managing director Maurice Flanagan and their teams. We discussed the tasks ahead and how we wanted to proceed. On October 18, a group of 100 pilots, flight and aircraft engineers, maintenance staff, among others all came to Dubai to initiate the planning stages, and we began test flights from then on to ensure everything would operate to plan. I was also tasked to train UAE National pilots. They were trained in Dubai and got their commercial licenses from the Civil Aviation Authority in Pakistan.

In the 30 year period since those early days recounted by Captain Mian, Emirates has grown to become the world’s largest international airline, currently serving 147 cities on six continents, with a reputation for innovation and service excellence.