Emirates has introduced a set of Ramadan services for customers travelling during the Holy Month, including iftar boxes for fasting passengers in all cabin classes on select routes, complimentary prayer mats available on request, and additional religious content on its inflight entertainment system, the airline said on February 16, 2026 in a media statement released in Dubai.

The Dubai-based carrier said it will “share thousands of iftar boxes for fasting customers both onboard and at boarding gates,” alongside offering “complimentary Emirates prayer mats,” screening “an array of religious content and popular TV shows on ice,” and serving “traditional Ramadan dishes in the lounges,” according to The Emirates Group.

The measures matter for Kenya’s outbound travel market because Emirates is a major long-haul connector for Kenyan passengers through Dubai to the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America. Ramadan travel demand typically includes visits to family, religious travel to Saudi Arabia, and business travel timed around the holiday period, making service consistency and operational planning important for airlines and travel trade partners in East Africa.

At boarding gates during iftar time, Emirates said it will distribute complimentary boxes containing “water, laban, a banana, and dates” at select gates. Onboard, the airline said Ramadan meal boxes will be offered “across all cabin classes to select destinations” in addition to the regular hot meal service.

The airline said the onboard boxes include “traditional dates, light bites of hummus, moutabel or muhammara with Arabic bread,” a chicken sandwich option, sweet items such as “baklawa pistachio mamoul or baklawa pine seed cashew,” and laban. Emirates said the packaging design references “the geometric design of traditional Islamic art.”

To manage fasting times in flight, Emirates said it uses “a unique tool to calculate the correct timings for imsak … and iftar while inflight,” using the aircraft’s “longitude, latitude, and altitude,” and that “passengers will be officially informed of the iftar time by the captain” when the sun sets.

For premium customers and eligible travellers using its facilities, Emirates said its seven lounges at Dubai International Airport (DXB) will offer Ramadan refreshments including “Arabic sweets, dates and coffee,” alongside a rotating range of hot and cold dishes. The airline added that its lounges in Cairo and Jeddah will also serve Ramadan dishes and that lounges include “dedicated prayer rooms and ablution facilities.”

On its ice entertainment system, Emirates said it will feature religious programming in Arabic and Urdu and that “the Holy Qur’an is also available on ice.” The airline also cited its broader catalogue, saying ice has “more than 6500 channels of on demand entertainment,” including “up to 450 channels of movies and TV in the Arabic language” and “400 channels of Arabic music and podcasts.”

Separately, Emirates said it has launched Bukhoor home fragrances for Ramadan via the Emirates Official Store, pricing each 70g pot at about KES 6,760 (USD 52), based on an indicative exchange rate of KES 130 per US dollar. The company also outlined support for Umrah travellers, saying customers can check in one bottle of Zamzam water “containing up to 5 litres per person” at DXB and select airports in Saudi Arabia, and that Ramadan boxes will be served for Umrah groups travelling to Jeddah and Medina during the month.

For the wider travel industry—including agents and corporate travel buyers in Kenya—the announcement signals a focus on standardised Ramadan service delivery across touchpoints (boarding gates, inflight and lounges), which can influence passenger experience expectations on routes connecting through Dubai. Emirates also said it provides “Ramadan awareness training” for cabin crew and ground teams across its network to align operations with Ramadan practices.

Emirates did not disclose which specific “select destinations” will receive the Ramadan meal boxes, or the number of boxes to be distributed, beyond stating “thousands.” Further updates are likely as the airline finalises route-level deployment and airport gate logistics during the month.