Emirates plans to resume Glasgow and Edinburgh flights

Dubai flights from Glasgow are due to restart in July and from Edinburgh in August.

Emirates plans to resume daily Glasgow flights with an Airbus A380 from 1 July. Picture: Mark Runnacles.

Emirates 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 777-300ER, the airline had also posted.

Qatar Airways is suspending its Edinburgh-Doha route from tomorrow.

It further intends to restart daily Edinburgh-Dubai flights on 1 August with a Boeing 777-300ER.

However, Qatar Airways will suspend its Edinburgh-Doha flights from tomorrow with no date for its resumption.

It had continued the service to enable passengers to get home to Scotland and visitors to return to their home countries.

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 service resumption when we are in a position to do so.”

But aviation analyst John Strickland said things could change.

Mr Strickland, of JLS Consulting, said: “If Emirates does restore a full or nearly full schedule to Scottish airports this summer, traffic will be well below previous levels.

“Lack of global border openings and questions about social distancing will be among numerous factors exercising a negative influence.

“I’d expect further, more cautious revisions to restored capacity to be announced.”

An Edinburgh Airport spokesman said: “We remain open to help people return home to Scotland or to other countries across the world and to ensure crucial cargo, such as medical supplies, can be delivered to areas that require it.

"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 Glasgow Airport spokesperson said: “The global aviation industry is continuing to navigate what is a constantly-evolving and unprecedented situation.

“We remain in regular contact with all of our airline partners and are working hard on our recovery plans to help facilitate a return of air services for our passengers when it is possible to do so.

“In the meantime, Glasgow Airport continues to support vital connectivity including lifeline Highlands and Islands routes, Scotland’s air ambulance service and a small number of hub-based flights used by key workers and repatriating passengers.”

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