Emirates focuses on UK, European cities as travel restrictions ease
Emirates said that it is scaling up services with additional route resumptions and more flights across its European network, responding to the easing of international entry protocols and an upsurge in passenger demand.
With clear signals that passenger confidence for international travel is returning, the airline said in a statement that it is advancing its plans to increase services and capacity to improve connections to and from its extensive European network via Dubai.
In the UK, Emirates will reinstate flights to Newcastle Airport (NCL) from October 15, offering four weekly flights to the northeast of England, all operated by the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two class configuration.
By the end of October, the airline will offer 77 weekly flights to the UK as it gradually recovers operations in one of its most important global markets.
UK weekly operations also include a six times daily London Heathrow operation with five A380 services; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, 10 weekly services to Birmingham, daily services to Glasgow and four weekly services to Newcastle.
Earlier this month, the UAE moved onto the UK's 'amber' list for travel, and travellers arriving in the UK from Dubai no longer need to quarantine in a government-approved hotel.
Responding to a rise in customer demand, Emirates has also brought forward its plans to introduce extra flights and capacity to over 10 European cities, including Birmingham, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Hamburg, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Munich, Rome and Zurich.
Many of these cities will be served with daily flights or more, the airline said.
In Germany, Emirates will expand frequencies to daily flights in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich, with a total of 50 flights a week by October 31. Flights between Dusseldorf and Dubai, as well as between Hamburg and Dubai, will also be upgraded to the Emirates A380 to offer more capacity between both cities.
Beyond Europe, Emirates has also announced route restarts between Male and Colombo from September 1, which will further support the tourism industries of the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
By mid-October, Emirates will also increase its service between Male and Dubai to four daily flights. Other routes that will see increased frequencies include Muscat with four weekly flights from August 28 and Sao Paulo, which will have daily flights from October 5.
As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, Emirates said it has resumed passenger services to over 120 destinations and has recovered close to 90 percent of its pre-pandemic network.