Emirates adds London Gatwick flights following Heathrow cap on passenger numbers

The Dubai airline says it is 'grateful for the support' from the hub after announcing three daily services

Emirates will add more flights to and from London Gatwick and is on-track to restart Stanstead services. Photo: Emirates

Emirates is adding more flights to London to help cope with high travel demand this summer.

Dubai's biggest airline will increase its flight schedule in and out of London Gatwick from Wednesday. Emirates will add one more daily flight to its network, taking its Dubai-Gatwick route to three services a day.

Emirates said it is “grateful for the support" from the airport in helping provide passengers with “a smooth and reliable journey”.

The move comes following London Heathrow's cap on passenger numbers and is designed to provide extra seats for travellers affected by the new limits.

Additional flights will operate to the airport until Wednesday, August 3. Scheduled to fly in the morning, the flight will operate via a Boeing 777 aircraft with first, business and economy class cabins.

Emirates previously refused to cut capacity on flights to Europe's busiest airport saying it would affect too many customers.

Long queues, cancellations and luggage problems have plagued Heathrow Airport since the travel sector’s comeback from coronavirus restrictions. Bloomberg

The airport has struggled to cope with a volume of more than 100,000 departing passengers a day, with bags arriving late, queues snaking through terminals and flights being cancelled at the 11th hour. Reuters

Travelling through Heathrow has been a dire experience for some of late. AP

Suitcases uncollected at Heathrow's Terminal 3 baggage reclaim. AFP

There is a shortage of staff after many people were laid off during the pandemic. AP

Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting extra staff last November. AP

Baggage piles up outside Terminal 2 at Heathrow in June. Baggage issues have bedevilled the airport, with a combination of staff shortages and malfunctioning automated baggage handling systems contributing to the mayhem. Reuters

One traveller shows his disappointment while waiting in a long queue to pass through a security check in June. Getty Images

Passengers queue to check in at Terminal 5. Bloomberg

A queue snakes through the airport. Getty Images

A waiting passenger decides to get some sleep in Terminal 5. Reuters

Long queues form through a terminal. PA

A crowded check in area in Terminal 2 in April. Heathrow rejects the accusation of having failed to prepare, saying it started recruiting months ago. PA

A dejected looking passenger queues for check-in ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend at Heathrow in April. Reuters

People queuing to go through security at Heathrow. PA

Queues at arrivals in Heathrow in March. Photo: Sven Kili / Twitter

“We said we can't do that and we won't do that,” said Emirates president Sir Tim Clark, at a panel at Farnborough International Airshow last week.

The airline has since agreed to stop selling tickets on flights until mid-August and is making “capacity adjustments” on London Heathrow flights in order to “help ease operational pressures at the airport”.

Travellers affected by the changes will be contacted by the airline, or the travel agent they booked with, to confirm new travel plans.

“The third daily flight, currently planned from July 27 until August 3, will help serve high demand to and from London, and provide additional seats to accommodate Emirates passengers affected by capacity adjustments on flights from London Heathrow, which will be made to help ease operational pressures at the airport," a representative for Emirates told The National.

"We are closely monitoring our operations in the UK, and will adjust our capacity as needed to best serve our customers. We are working hard with our airport and ground services partners to ensure we are equipped to handle the demand. We want our customers to have the confidence that we will deliver the best experience possible, with minimal disruptions to their travel plans.”

The airline confirmed it is “working closely with its travel partners to reaccommodate any affected bookings and ensure smooth onward flight connections for customers to reach their planned destination.”

Earlier this week, Gatwick airport asked passengers to be better prepared when flying. Airport bosses requested passengers pay more attention to security rules before their flights to ease disruption in its terminals.

Emirates to fly to three London airports in August

Emirates will operate to and from three airports in London starting August 1. Photo: PA

Emirates is also moving forward with plans to restart daily services from Dubai to London Stanstead from Monday, August 1.

The airline previously announced it would operate five flights to the Essex airport each week in August, increasing the service to a daily one from Thursday, September 1.

The airline continues to operate six daily flights to and from London Heathrow.