One of the world’s most renowned airlines will arrive into Edinburgh later this year with the launch of an Emirates service to Dubai.
The daily service will begin in October, with the Boeing B777-300ER touching down in Edinburgh at 1450 before departing at 2015 and arriving in Dubai at 0640.
It will be a year-round service and maintains and strengthens Scotland’s busiest airport’s links with the Middle East ahead of the departure of Etihad’s Abu Dhabi route.
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “This is a fantastic announcement as we welcome another world-renowned airline to Scotland’s busiest airport – a clear statement that Edinburgh Airport is the gateway to Scotland.
“The route enhances our connectivity to the Middle East and further afield as we access that long-haul network, giving us greater access and choice than ever before. It also back fills the departure of Etihad even before that service ceases.
“The service caters for leisure and business passengers, providing daily links for international tourism and trade opportunities both inbound and outbound, and will help our growth and international standing as a world class hub.
“We’re delighted to welcome Emirates on-board and further expand our international choice for the 13.4 million passengers who use Edinburgh Airport every year, and we look forward to working with Emirates to provide a top-class service for passengers and ensure the success of this Edinburgh to Dubai route.”
Hubert Frach, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West, said: “We’re increasing our capacity to Scotland to meet growing demand, and by introducing a daily flight to Edinburgh, it will complement our current double daily flights between Dubai and Glasgow.
Edinburgh is a very popular leisure and business destination, and the new service will offer our customers from across our global network, particularly from key inbound markets such as Asia and Australia, a direct option to the city via our Dubai hub.
“It will also be a more convenient point for travellers from the greater Edinburgh area, and beyond, such as Aberdeen and Dundee, to travel with Emirates to Dubai and onward to destinations across our network.”
Minister for Transport and the Islands Humza Yousaf said: “This new route, between Edinburgh and Dubai, is excellent news, increasing Scotland’s connectivity and helping to promote the country around the globe.
“It will give Scottish businesses even better access to global markets, thanks to the number of onward destinations on offer from Dubai. It also means that the rising number of tourists looking to visit Scotland will have even more options when it comes to experiencing our world-famous hospitality.
“This new service will complement Emirates’ existing Scottish flights and shows the airline has great confidence in our aviation sector. I congratulate both them and Edinburgh Airport on this announcement and look forward to seeing this new service take off in the autumn.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland said: “VisitScotland is delighted to welcome Emirates’ move to increase its daily services between Dubai and Scotland. This, alongside the recent news that Hainan Airlines will commence direct flights between Beijing and Edinburgh from 12 June, shows that international airlines have a strong commitment in investing in Scotland.
“The recently launched campaign, Scotland is Now, extends an invitation to visit, live, work, study and invest in Scotland and these investments will not only benefit Scots wishing to travel to Dubai for leisure or business but help increase inbound tourism from UAE, Australasia, China and further afield.”
Marc Crothall, Chief Executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance said: “This is a very welcome announcement and great news for Scottish tourism; the link between Edinburgh and the world’s busiest airport presents a whole new wave of market opportunities for Scotland’s tourism industry, both from a visitor and business tourism perspective.
“Scotland is already a leading destination for visitors and the opening of this, and other new routes is further evidence of the international appeal of Scotland in relation to tourism and international investment.
“We must continue to build on our competitiveness as a destination to ensure that we continue to attract this type of investment and of course to ensure that each and every visitor who comes to Scotland enjoys the quality, authentic experience we place at the heart of our tourism strategy.”
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