Emirates has announced plans to operate its A380 superjumbo aircraft into Glasgow next year.
It will be the first regular scheduled A380 service into a Scottish airport, but the move will only be temporary, as the Gulf carrier attempts to mitigate the effects of the closure of Dubai International’s southern runway for maintenance.
Between April 16 and May 31, 2019, Emirates will replace its twice daily B777 service with a single A380 flight, departing Dubai at 1450 and arriving into Glasgow at 1945, with the return leg leaving the Scottish city at 2130 and landing back into Dubai at 0755 the following day.
Then during the peak period between June 1 and September 30 the carrier’s double daily service will be reinstated, with the A380 operating on the first flight of the day, and the B777 on the second.
Finally from October the route will revert to a twice daily B777 service.
The superjumbo serving the Glasgow-Dubai route will be configured in three classes, with 14 first class suites, 76 business class seats and 399 economy seats.
It’s not the first time Emirates has operated the A380 into Glasgow – a one-off service took place in April 2014 to celebrate ten years of flights into the city.
Over the years there have been persistent speculation of the Glasgow-Dubai route being upgraded to the A380 – in August 2016 UK vice president Laurie Berryman said “I think it’s a question of when rather than if.”
As previously reported Dubai’s southern runway will close for 45 days between April 16 and May 30, 2019, for extensive upgrade works including a complete surface resurfacing, and replacement of the airfield ground lighting and supporting infrastructure.
