Dubai’s Emirates to expand its network to 50 destinations in June

Dubai’s Emirates airline is aiming to add 50 new destinations to its network in June, as governments worldwide ease lockdowns and wind down travel restrictions.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Emirates’ chief operating officer, Adel Al Redha said that the airline is confident of a strong recovery in the coming weeks by adding new destinations and facilitating transit travellers.

However, recovery will be gradual and will take some time to reach pre-Covid-19 performance levels, the COO noted.

“June is a very important month for aviation in general and Emirates in particular as the airline is going to reopen more routes in coming days. We are in close touch with relevant authorities and governments and will share the details once we conclude a deal,” Al Redha said.

“Covid-19 flight and travel restrictions remain in place across many countries around the world. But the situation is changing fast and more countries are going to ease travel restrictions this month and it will help revive trade, tourism, aviation and the economy,” he added.

On May 13, Emirates announced that it will operate scheduled passenger flights to nine destinations starting May 21. The destination cities included London (Heathrow), Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates to resume scheduled passenger flights starting next week

With the resumption of regularly scheduled passenger flights, it also initiated a series of new measures to spur safety and hygiene standards onboard and on the ground.

Read more: Emirates steps up safety standards as scheduled passenger flights resume

Earlier this week, Emirates also confirmed that it had laid off some of its employees due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and although the airline had gradually resumed flights, the “current crisis” had forced it to reduce its workforce.

Read more: Covid-19 impact: Dubai’s Emirates confirms staff layoffs

“Three months are very crucial for aviation markets as it will set the future direction as more countries will lift ban on international flights. Most of the countries will open their airports in June and July and the rest are expected in August,” Al Redha noted.

Emirates is in talks to resume flight operations to India and Pakistan and will share details once anything is finalised, the COO added.

Also read: Airlines cannot operate with empty middle seats – Emirates’ Tim Clark