Maurice Flanagan strides into CAPA Hall of Fame

Mr Flanagan received the award in Singapore yesterday at the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence for 2007, organised as part of CAPA's 4th Annual Asia Pacific and Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit.

According to CAPA, the Legends Award honours individuals who have demonstrated 'a lifetime of strategic leadership, innovation and influence in the aviation industry'. The recipient is chosen by an aviation advisory board, which assesses the recipient based on an individual's achievements in the aviation industry over the course of the person's career. Past recipients of the CAPA Legends Award include Ray Webster, former Chief Executive Officer of easyJet and Dr Cheong Choong Kong, former Deputy Chairman and CEO of Singapore Airlines.

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, CAPA, said, 'Under the stewardship of Mr Flanagan, Emirates has gone from two aircraft serving three destinations in India and Pakistan, to a fleet of more than 100 aircraft and the only airline operating non-stop to all continents on the globe from a single hub. Emirates' ascendant influence on global aviation will change the structure of the industry in years to come, and this is no doubt due to the solid foundation that Mr Flanagan and his team have laid since Emirates' start-up. We warmly congratulate Mr Flanagan on his award and look forward to seeing Emirates grow from strength to strength in the coming years.'

Mr Flanagan said, 'CAPA's reputation in the aviation industry is unparalleled and it is indeed an honour to be inducted into its coveted Hall of Fame. I would like to thank Peter Harbison and his team for conferring this honour upon me, as well as all my colleagues for their unstinting support. I'm extremely proud of the Emirates team, now more than 30,000 strong and ever growing, for the dedication and professionalism that have ensured the Emirates Group is at the top in the aviation world, under the exceptional leadership of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.'

Maurice Flanagan CBE, BA, Hon.FRAeS, FRAeS, FCIT, first entered the aviation industry in 1953, when he joined BOAC, the forerunner of British Airways, as a graduate trainee. In 1978, he joined the Emirates Group as the Director and General Manager of Dnata, Emirates' sister company. Mr Flanagan then became Emirates' Managing Director in 1985 when the airline began operations and was appointed Group Managing Director of the Emirates Group in 1990. He became Emirates' Vice Chairman and Group President in July 2003 and was appointed Executive Vice Chairman for Emirates Airline and Emirates Group in 2006.