Dubai flights look to start date as
● Emirates notifies aviation industry it intends to resume services in July
Emirates is poised to restart Dubai flights from Glasgow in July and from Edinburgh in August as the airline navigates its way out of the coronavirus lockdown.
The carrier has notified the aviation industry flight information service Routes it intends to resume Glasgow flights from 1 July.
They would be operated, as before, by an Airbus A380 – the world’s largest passenger aircraft.
The second daily flight to Dubai would follow from 1 August using a smaller Boeing 777-300, the airline had also posted.
Emirates further intends to restart daily Edinburgh-dubai flights on 1 August with a Boeing 777-300.
An Emirates spokesperson said: “Currently, some of our flights are available for booking. However, the situation remains dynamic.
“Covid-19 flight and travel restrictions remain in place across many countries around the world.
“What we’ve done is implemented a temporary booking pause for May and June, or until such time when approvals to fly are received from the various government authorities.
“Such approvals may come with different conditions such as load limitations to allow passenger spacing. By implementing a booking pause for our flights in the system, we are building flexibility to manage our inventory and avoid disappointing customers.
“We continue to closely monitor the situation as it evolves, and we hope to resume services as soon as conditions allow.
“We will announce any serviceresumptionwhenwearein a position to do so.”
Edinburgh-new York flights have meanwhile also signalled for take-off, but Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington routes from the Scottish capital have been cancelled for the summer.
United Airlines has notified its intention to resume Edinburgh to New York Newark flights from 1 July.
The carrier told the Routes service it planned to operate the route daily with a Boeing 757-200.
However, the US airline has cancelled its daily summer service between the capital and both Chicago and Washington DC.
It has also scrapped daily summer flights between Glasgow and New York Newark.
A spokesperson for United said: “As the Covid-19 outbreak continues to severely impact international travel, United is continuing to adjust its international schedule.
“Overall, international capacity for May is reduced by 92 per cent and from the UK.
“Together with other planned seasonal summer services such as Prague, Stockholm, Palermo and Reykjavik to New York Newark, our seasonal services from Edinburgh to Chicago, Edinburgh to Washington Dulles and also Glasgow to New York Newark are cancelled for this season.”
In addition, American Airlines said it would not operate its Edinburgh-philadelphia service this summer.
An American Airlines spokesperson said: “American will suspend more than 60 per cent of its total international capacity this summer compared to the same peak period in 2019.
“Thesechangesareduetosignificantly decreased customer demand as well as government travel restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic.” An Edinburgh Airport spokesman said: “We stand ready to facilitate travel when required and our operations team is planning for various scenarios.
“The situation remains fluid and we continue to speak to our airline partners to understand their plans, and we will react accordingly.”
A total £11.2 billion in claims for state loans have already been submitted by European airlines because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Airlines with Scottish flights that are seeking help include easyjet (£600 million), SAS (£407m), TUI (£1.58bn) and Norwegian (£23m).
Transport & Environment aviation manager Andrew Murphy said: “Airlines are seeking public money so they can get back to the businessas-usual of soaring emissions enabled by light-touch pollution laws and tax exemptions.
“It’s time to ensure aviation makes a green transition by linking aid to taxes and greener fuels which will reverse the sector’s rapid emissions growth.”
A spokesperson for Airlines UK said:“no other sector – transport or otherwise – has been asked to attach conditions to any economic support package to deal with the devastating impacts of Covid-19, and if we want our economy to grow once we enter the recovery period we will need our aviation sector more than ever.”