By Bulent Imat
Emirates Resumes Flights to Seychelles, Expands Maldives and Philippines Operations
Emirates resumed services to the Seychelles Aug. 1, boosting access to Indian Ocean destinations this summer. The resumption of flights to the island nation coincided with the country’s re-opening to international tourists. The Gulf carrier will operate five flights a week with its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, giving access to access to the Seychelles, a popular Indian Ocean holiday destination.
The Dubai-based airline carried 170 passengers to the Seychelles after months of novel coronavirus pandemic shutdown on the island. Emirates flight EK705 from Dubai became the first commercial passenger flight to the Seychelles International Airport, which was closed to commercial passenger flights in March to curb the spread of COVID-19 on the island.
The airline has also announced that it will increase its services to the Maldives from the current five a week to six times per week beginning Aug. 4 to meet customer demand.
In addition, Emirates announced the resumption of passenger flights to Clark International Airport in the Philippines with six weekly flights from Aug. 1, expanding its network to 68 destinations in August.
Emirates resumed its services to Manila International Airport on June 11. With the resumption of flights to Clark, the airline will now operate scheduled passenger flights to two destinations in the Philippines, increasing the network of destinations Emirates now serves in South East and East Asia across ten countries and territories.
The Gulf carrier currently flies to Male and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and Clark Airport; Hanoi, Vietnam; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong; Guangzhou; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila; Osaka; Seoul; Singapore; Taipei and Tokyo in East Asia.
The Dubai-based airline added more destinations to its flight schedule in August, bringing the airline’s network to over 60 cities. Flights to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Stockholm resumed in August. Scheduled passenger flights to Nairobi; Prague, Czech Republic and Sao Paulo are slated to resume from Aug. 2, Oslo from Aug. 4, Baghdad and Basrah, Iraq from Aug. 10 and Boston from Aug. 15.
These will bring the airline’s current route total to over 60, including existing flights to a number of cities and countries on five continents. With the gradual re-opening of borders and the resumption of flights in summer holiday season, Emirates aims at boosting its network in addition to convincing travelers to fly amid the ongoing pandemic. The airline has announced it will cover medical expenses of up to 150,000 euros ($177,000) and quarantine costs of 100 euros per day for 14 days if passengers are diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel, becoming the first airline in the world to offer free and global cover for pandemic-related costs.
Emirates says that it has seen an uptick in interest and bookings since Dubai re-opened to international tourism on July 7.
“Emirates is working with Dubai Tourism and our other partners on even more attractive travel offers and packages, and we look forward to announcing these offers soon,” Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha said in a statement.
The United Arab Emirates has recently updated its entry requirements for travelers, mandating COVID-19 PCR tests all travelers arriving in or transiting in the country.
Bulent is an aviation journalist, content creator and traveller. He lives in Germany and has experienced travelling with almost all flag carrier airlines and low-cost airlines based in Europe and the Middle East to observe the standards of different airline companies and airports. He has extensive knowledge in web design and content creation.