Dubai’s Emirates to resume flights to Australia

Dubai carrier Emirates will resume flights to the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane later this week.

“Emirates will resume passenger flights to Sydney from January 25, to Melbourne from January 26, and to Brisbane from January 28. Passenger flights between Dubai and Perth, as well as cargo operations to all Australian points, continue as scheduled,” an Emirates’ spokesperson told Gulf Business. 

Earlier this month, the airline suspended all flights between Dubai and Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in Australia “until further notice.” The decision was made due to “operational reasons”.

Read: Emirates to indefinitely suspend flights between Dubai and Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane

“The pandemic has made international flying incredibly challenging, and the dynamic restrictions and requirements implemented by the different state authorities in Australia had added complexity and burden to our operations. This led us to temporarily suspend passenger services while we engaged with various stakeholders regarding crew protocols and other operational details,” the spokesperson added.

The carrier confirmed that it had made the decision to resume services with adjustments to its operations.

“All our crew (cabin crew and pilots) operating on Australian flights were already mandated to take a PCR test 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure from Dubai. With the latest adjustments, these tests will be administered in their homes, and our crew will also observe self-quarantine in their homes from the moment of testing until their flight. Combined with the hotel quarantine and tests on arrival in Australia, this effectively means that our crew are in a “bubble” from 48 hours before their flight, until they return to Dubai,” the spokesperson noted.

“This is an added burden for our crew as individuals, for our rostering, and operating costs, and therefore this decision was made after careful review and consideration. We are grateful that our wonderful crew teams are very understanding and supportive, which has enabled us to quickly restart passenger services. Emirates is keen to serve the many Australians waiting to get home, and we hope that commercial and operational conditions will allow us to continue doing so.”

Emirates has also suspended all flights between the UAE and South Africa from Saturday, January 16 to Thursday, January 28.

Read more: Emirates suspends all flights between Dubai and South Africa