Emirates to launch daily service to Edinburgh

New route will launch on October 1 to meet rising demand, airline says

Emirates plans to launch a daily service to Edinburgh. Lionel Bonaventure / AFP
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Dubai-based carrier Emirates will launch a daily service to and from Scotland’s capital city Edinburgh from October 1 to meet growing demand, it said on Tuesday.

“Edinburgh is a very popular leisure and business destination, and the new service will offer 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,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates’ divisional senior vice-president of commercial operations (West).

Edinburgh will be Emirates’ second destination in Scotland after Glasgow and its eighth in the UK after the airline starts its daily service to London Stansted in June.

The new service will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration with eight private suites in First Class, 42 seats in Business Class and 304 in Economy.

Flight EK023 will depart Dubai daily at 09.55 and arrive in Edinburgh at 14.50, while the return flight, EK024 will depart Edinburgh at 20.15 and arrive in Dubai at 06.40 the next morning.

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Edinburgh is the second most visited city in the UK by tourists and parts of it are designated Unesco World Heritage Sites. It was also the first city in the world to be designated a Unesco City of Literature, and last year was named by the European Union as the top city of its size in Europe for culture and creativity.

“[The new service] will enhance our connectivity with the Middle East and further afield … and further expand our international choice for the 13.4 million passengers who use Edinburgh Airport every year,” said Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport.

The planned route launch comes as Abu Dhabi state carrier Etihad Airways said last month it will stop flying to Edinburgh from October 1, as it continues to review its business operations.