iscover
Emirates has made its long-awaited return to Adelaide with the relaunch of its daily service to Dubai.
The inaugural EK440 service touched down in Adelaide just before 9pm Monday night on the 302-seater 777-200LR A6-EWJ, with the service expected to add more than 4,200 seats per week, or around 220,400 seats per year, between Adelaide and the important Gulf travel hub.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
This is the first time Emirates has served Adelaide since it halted flights in March 2020 due to the pandemic, and the South Australian Tourism Commission expects the route to generate more than $62 million per year for the state’s economy.
“We’re not just welcoming back a world-class airline; we’re re-opening South Australia’s doors to the world, showcasing our beautiful state to over 220,000 potential visitors each year,” said South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas.
“This reconnection to Dubai and beyond will benefit our economy, creating jobs and opening up new opportunities for trade and tourism.
“With an estimated $160 million annual economic impact, including $62 million in tourism expenditure, this service will play a crucial role in our state’s growth. This is a clear vote of confidence in South Australia’s future, and we’re ready to make the most of it.”
Emirates’ executive vice president for passenger sales and country management, Nabil Sultan, said Australia is a “priority market” for the airline.
“The return of our Adelaide service reinforces our commitment to expanding our Australia network, which now offers 70 weekly services across five Australian cities,” Sultan said.
“We extend our gratitude to the South Australian Tourism Commission and Adelaide Airport in assisting our return to the city. The Emirates flights not only facilitate trade flows but allow us to provide South Australians with access to a world-class travel experience and seamless connectivity through our Dubai hub to more than 140 destinations around the world.
“We also look forward to further supporting ever-important cargo opportunities for businesses in South Australia, as well as to the rest of our Australia network through our freight operations.”
Emirates is a codeshare partner of Qantas, which is yet to resume international services from Adelaide in its own right, though subsidiary Jetstar operates flights to Bali.
Last year, Premier Malinauskas called on the Flying Kangaroo to bring back Qantas-branded international flights out of Adelaide, which have not been seen since the axing of a Singapore service in 2013.
“It’s been, I think, a decade since Qantas has served Adelaide on an international route, and we would love to see that change,” he said.
“I made that clear to Alan Joyce, and I’ll be making it clear to [new CEO Vanessa] Hudson at an appropriate opportunity.
“I think sometimes we’ve seen evidence of Qantas wanting to enjoy the status of being the national flag carrier. If they want to uphold that, I think they should be looking closely at Adelaide.”
