29th Nov 2019 - Emirates operated a one off historic A380 flight, marking the 48th UAE National Day and the UAE Year of Tolerance. 145 nationalities, over 500 passengers and a kaleidoscope of cultures came together to make history on Emirates flight EK2019.
The "Year of Tolerance" special livery A380 was operated on the EK2019 flight; registration of the aircraft was A6-EVB, a 2 class A380 with a 615 passengers capacity.
![a couple of airplanes with people on them](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK20192-800x432.jpg)
![a white airplane with a painted design on it](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019-800x494.jpg)
The flight welcomed passengers from different backgrounds, ethnicities, religion and cultures; it included employees, families and children, as well as people of determination. Passengers were encouraged to come in their national dress and, throughout the flight, their colourful costumes became a vibrant collage honouring their different heritages and traditions.
![a group of people standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_01-800x600.jpg)
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_43.jpg)
![a group of people posing with a sign](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_46-800x600.jpg)
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_48.jpg)
There were a lot of fun filled activities at the gate. Passengers could take photo with Emirates mascots and write their name to complete a frame. There were also refreshments provided at the gate.
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_16-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people in a buffet line](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_13-800x534.jpg)
![a boy holding a red sign](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_17-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people in a room](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_11-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people in a terminal](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_10-800x534.jpg)
![a group of white tags with writing on them](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_47.jpg)
![a man pointing at a map](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_14-800x534.jpg)
![a plane in an airport](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_45.jpg)
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_50.jpg)
![a group of people holding flags](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_18-800x534.jpg)
Flight EK2019 was commanded by UAE National Captain Abbas Shaban, Captain Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum and First Officer Karin Arning from Paraguay.
![a group of people in a cockpit](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_19-800x534.jpg)
The flight departed from Runway 12R of Dubai Int'l, then turned left towards Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, then heading East over Ras Al Khaimah and on towards Fujairah; it then headed South towards Al Ain and Abu Dhabi before return to Dubai for landing.
![a map of a plane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_60-800x600.jpg)
The flight time was planned for 1 hour but the actual flight was 1.5 hours. We were cruising at around 7,000 ft.
![an airplane taking off from a runway](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_05-800x534.jpg)
![](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Screen-Shot-2019-11-29-at-9.30.16-PM-800x494.png)
The 22 cabin crew on flight EK2019 came from 18 different countries, the team were led by flight purser Jafar Hamad.
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_65.jpg)
![a group of airplanes on a runway](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_54-800x450.jpg)
![a plane engine in the air](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_72-800x450.jpg)
![an airplane wing with a large engine above the water](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_58-800x600.jpg)
![](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_59-800x600.jpg)
The great thing with 145 nationalities on-board was that you got to mix and mingle with different backgrounds. I was sitting next to two kind Indian ladies from Chennai, who both live in the UAE.
![a group of people sitting in chairs](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_73-800x600.jpg)
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_64.jpg)
![a group of women posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_23-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people sitting in an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_03-800x498.jpg)
Just before descent, an official adjudicator from the Guinness World Records, who was on-board verifying nationality counts, officially announced that the flight was a new Guinness World Record title for most nationalities on an aircraft (145 nationalities).
![a man and woman standing in an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_20-800x534.jpg)
Flight certificates were handed out to all the passengers on Flight EK2019.
![a white card with a group of people on it](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_63.jpg)
The weather en-route was mostly clear as we head back to Dubai to land.
![an airplane wing with two engines above the water](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_66-800x600.jpg)
As passengers disembarked, a ceremony took place in front of the aircraft to mark the record; a group photo with all 500 passengers was taken in front of the Emirates “Year of Tolerance” A380.
![a group of people standing on an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_34-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_74-800x600.jpg)
![a group of people standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_78-800x600.jpg)
![a group of people in uniform standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_76-800x600.jpg)
![a man holding a model airplane in front of a large airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_75.jpg)
![a group of people in white robes standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_26-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people posing for a photo](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_40-800x534.jpg)
![a certificate with a blue and white circle and text](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_79.jpg)
![a group of people standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_33-800x534.jpg)
![a group of people standing in front of a plane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_04-800x531.jpg)
![a group of people standing in front of an airplane](https://samchui.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EK2019_Emirates2019_Flight_01-800x600.jpg)
I came to the UAE 9 years ago and I have never met so many people form different nationalities before. Throughout my time in the UAE, I had already started to appreciate other cultures and enjoy mixing with them.
Aviation brings the world together. Together We're ONE ☝️
A full vlog of this flight will be out next week!