Emirates boosts services as COVID restrictions ease

Emirates plans to restore capacity to 29 cities across its network as travel demand rises in response to eased COVID restrictions in some regions. The Dubai-based carrier said Wednesday the increase would involve 270 flights with the expansion of services to and from the UK and a boost to operations in the US and Africa. The move is in response to recent announcements that the United Arab Emirates was easing entry protocols for 12 countries and the UK was adding the UAE to its amber list, which requires testing but not quarantine for vaccinated travelers. READ: Emirates ad wows with a surprise climax The 12 countries with eased UAE entry protocols are the United Kingdom, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria and  Afghanistan. “As international borders reopen and travel restrictions ease, Emirates continues to expand its network safely and sustainably, matching capacity with demand in line with market dynamics and operating conditions,’’ it said. “The airline has resumed passenger services to over 120 destinations, recovering close to 90 percent of its pre-pandemic network.” Emirates plans to increase services to 73 weekly flights to the UK by October, including a six times a day London Heathrow operation; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, ten weekly services to Birmingham and daily services to Glasgow. It is now serving London Heathrow with three daily flights, all operated by its flagship A380, and will increase operations gradually through August and September. “By the middle of October, the airline will have restored its operations to six daily flights, of which four will be served by the A380,’’ it said. “The multiple daily flights served by the airline’s flagship A380 will provide significant connection opportunities to one of the highest demand leisure and business markets in the world.” “For Emirates customers wishing to travel to the UK, the airline has optimized schedules to create the best connection options from its network, particularly across major cities in Africa like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lusaka, and in West Asia including Karachi, Islamabad, among other cities.” Emirates currently flies more than 70 weekly flights to more than 12 cities in the United States and said it would be adding additional frequencies to Houston, Boston and San Francisco over the course of August to accommodate for the seasonal influx of travelers. It will also boost capacity on its four weekly services to New York JFK by adding the A380 from  August with the promise of more schedule and capacity adjustments to match its services with customer travel trends. In Africa, the Dubai carrier has increased flights to Johannesburg from daily to 11 weekly flights, with the addition of four linked flights with Durban. It also flies to and from Cape Town with three weekly services. It said flights to or from South Africa had been scheduled to allow for convenient connections to its network, including additional access to Emirates’ four gateways in the UK, as well as Emirates’ extensive US network. Also reinstated: capacity to and from Lusaka (linked with Harare) and Entebbe with five weekly flights each.