It was soon time to head back to the airport for my flight back to Dubai.
The departure area was crowded and busy when we arrived.
There was a queue for luggage X-rays, prior to check-in, which we assumed was only for checked baggage (We only had hand-carry).
However, when we headed past the X-rays directly to the counters, we were directed by airport security staff to get in line to have our baggage screened.
They were fairly strict about hand luggage – we had to show our hand luggage before being issued bag tags which signified that the hand luggage was approved.
Then we headed airside for more queues for security and immigration.
There are some F&B outlets and shops in the airside area where we could pause for a breather before heading to the gate.
The flight from RUH to DXB was full (again), and this time I chose a seat in the rear of the 77W.
I distracted myself with inflight wifi, available on this flight for a token USD 1 for 500MB. A great deal!
For some reason, the return flight took a very indirect route from Riyadh to Dubai, heading North towards the coast before turning towards Dubai.
As a QF Gold member, a cabin crew member came round to my seat to welcome me onboard, and also to pass me a fast track card for Dubai arrivals.
This was a 1 hr 35 min flight, but Emirates still provided a full meal service. With a full 77W, the cabin crew worked with near superhuman speed to serve meals to everyone onboard, with the last meals only being served almost at point of descent into Dubai!
Dinner that day was quite inspired. There was no choice of meal. On the menu was vegetables stuffed with lamb and rice, in a tomato-based sauce. This was delicious.
The starter was a cold chicken and pasta salad. Dessert was a cake in caramel sauce.
I would have been happy eating the main course of vegetable stuffed with lamb and rice in a restaurant on the ground. It was that good.
I did not see any alcoholic beverages served on this flight either.
The departure area was crowded and busy when we arrived.
There was a queue for luggage X-rays, prior to check-in, which we assumed was only for checked baggage (We only had hand-carry).
However, when we headed past the X-rays directly to the counters, we were directed by airport security staff to get in line to have our baggage screened.
They were fairly strict about hand luggage – we had to show our hand luggage before being issued bag tags which signified that the hand luggage was approved.
Then we headed airside for more queues for security and immigration.
There are some F&B outlets and shops in the airside area where we could pause for a breather before heading to the gate.
The flight from RUH to DXB was full (again), and this time I chose a seat in the rear of the 77W.
I distracted myself with inflight wifi, available on this flight for a token USD 1 for 500MB. A great deal!
For some reason, the return flight took a very indirect route from Riyadh to Dubai, heading North towards the coast before turning towards Dubai.
As a QF Gold member, a cabin crew member came round to my seat to welcome me onboard, and also to pass me a fast track card for Dubai arrivals.
This was a 1 hr 35 min flight, but Emirates still provided a full meal service. With a full 77W, the cabin crew worked with near superhuman speed to serve meals to everyone onboard, with the last meals only being served almost at point of descent into Dubai!
Dinner that day was quite inspired. There was no choice of meal. On the menu was vegetables stuffed with lamb and rice, in a tomato-based sauce. This was delicious.
The starter was a cold chicken and pasta salad. Dessert was a cake in caramel sauce.
I would have been happy eating the main course of vegetable stuffed with lamb and rice in a restaurant on the ground. It was that good.
I did not see any alcoholic beverages served on this flight either.
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