Emirates is growing its route network centered around open destinations. As Spain reopens, Emirates is holding its flight schedules steady but is ready to lay on more flights as needed. Plus, around the world, more countries are welcoming tourists again as vaccines roll out. From July, Emirates will operate over 280 weekly flights from its Dubai hub to destinations worldwide.
Emirates holds Spain steady for now
Spain will reopen for tourism on June 7th. Passengers who have either passed 14 days after being fully vaccinated or have a COVID-19 PCR test taken 48 hours before arrival will be allowed to enter the country. Proof of a negative result or a physical vaccination certificate must be provided upon arrival.
With Spain’s reopening, Emirates is currently offering nine weekly flights to the country. Five flights per week are operating to Madrid, and four flights a week are flying to Barcelona. Both routes are running with Boeing 777 aircraft, primarily the 777-300ER.
Future increases in frequencies are planned, according to Emirates. In line with increasing demand, Emirates will respond accordingly with frequencies or aircraft upgauges. Frequencies are likely to beat out aircraft swaps as Emirates is operating neither route daily.
A growing international network
Emirates highlights that its international network continues to grow as the airline recovers from one of the worst crises it has ever experienced. Vaccines are helping to drive the global reopening, and Emirates is responding in kind as each destination reopens. Emirates highlights the following destinations:
In Europe, Emirates offers quarantine-free travel to Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Spain, and France. France will reopen from June 9th for vaccinated tourists.
In the Middle East, Emirates is expanding its flight schedules to Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Egypt. In fact, on the short flight from Dubai to Bahrain this month, Emirates will be flying the Airbus A380 on the route.
Meanwhile, to leisure destinations in Asia, Emirates is offering flights to the Maldives and Seychelles. Phuket planned to reopen in July, will be connected to Dubai starting on July 2nd.
One of the big winners this summer will be the United States. Despite travel restrictions in place for most foreign nationals coming from select areas worldwide – including India – Emirates is encouraged by the vaccine rollout in the US and is deploying additional capacity to the country.
Miami, the airline’s 12th US gateway, will join the airline’s network on July 21st. Meanwhile, New York and Los Angeles are expected to receive Airbus A380 services this summer. Pre-crisis, Emirates flew the Airbus A380 heavily to the US. Now, it is starting to come back.
Lastly, Mexico remains open for travelers. Flights to Mexico City will resume on July 2nd. Because of geographic restraints in Mexico City, Emirates will run the flights from Dubai to Mexico City via a stop in Barcelona, Spain. Emirates will also sell nonstop tickets between Mexico City and Barcelona.
The network increases will see Emirates flying over 280 weekly flights from Dubai to cities in Europe, the US, Middle East, Africa, and popular island getaways. UAE travelers can now choose to fly nonstop on Emirates to over 30 cities in 19 countries. This does not include the flydubai partnership, which unlocks another 48 cities in 33 countries for quarantine-free entry this summer.
Relying on technology
Emirates is also turning to the IATA Travel Pass. The airline is scaling up its capabilities using the IATA Travel Pass on its flights to Barcelona, Moscow, Istanbul, New York-JFK, Madrid, and London-Heathrow. From July, Emirates plans to scale it up to all of its flights.
Customers traveling from Dubai are expected to be able to travel more easily this July, as well. In partnership with the Dubai Health Authority, Emirates will roll out paperless verification of COVID-19 related medical records for Dubai-based travelers.
Are you going to fly Emirates this summer? Which reopened destination (or planned reopening) are you most excited to travel to? Let us know in the comments!