Emirates has announced plans to restart flights to London Gatwick from December 10.
The resumption of the route is in response to the easing of travel restrictions and an upsurge in demand for winter sun, according to the airline. It also comes after the UK government announced that it would accept vaccination certificates from the UAE from October 4, meaning that travellers will no longer need to isolate upon arrival in the UK.
The daily service will be operated by a B777 aircraft with a three-class configuration. The flight will depart Dubai International at 0740 and arrive in Gatwick at 1140, while the return flight will depart Gatwick at 1335 and arrive in Dubai at 0040 the following day.
This will restore Emirates’ operations to six gateways across the UK, which include a six-times-daily A380 London Heathrow service, double daily A380 flights to Manchester, a ten-times-weekly service to Birmingham, a daily service to Glasgow, and a four-times-weekly service to Newcastle.
By the end of December, the airline will offer 48 weekly flights to the UK, allowing travellers to access the carrier’s global network of over 120 destinations.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, commented:
“We’re very pleased to resume Emirates flights to and from London Gatwick, offering more ways for people and businesses to connect with our ever growing global network.
“With the UK simplifying travel and accepting international vaccination certificates, we’ve seen a big surge in demand as people have been a lot more confident in booking trips for the coming months and further ahead, be it for business, a winter sun escape or to visit family and friends. Gatwick has long been a valued partner for Emirates and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard an Emirates flight soon.”
Stephen King, Head of Airline Relations at Gatwick Airport, added:
“We are delighted to welcome Emirates back to Gatwick in December. Emirates has been a hugely popular airline for Gatwick passengers and it’s fantastic that we are once again able to offer passengers across London and the South East the opportunity to connect with Dubai and beyond.”
The airline recently restarted services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is set to operate A380 flights to Istanbul from October 1 and also resume flights to St Petersburg in Russia from October 8.
