Emirates’ services to Europe are now operating as scheduled following the opening of Europe’s airspace, the Dubai carrier said in a press statement on Thursday.
To expedite passenger movement, Emirates is operating additional flights, wherever possible including two additional services to Gatwick today, Emirates said.
“Emirates has advised that in terms of passengers travelling to Europe via Dubai, the airline is now accepting all those that hold confirmed bookings for travel to the UK and Germany,” the carrier said in the statement.
Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ senior vice president, commercial operations Europe & Russian Federation, said: “We are now operating all of our flights to Europe as scheduled. This is an important step towards getting all of our displaced passengers to their final destination and we are delighted to once again be fully operational.
“To help expedite passenger movement, two additional flights have been added to Gatwick airport in the UK today. The number of remaining transit passengers in Dubai continues to dwindle with each departing Emirates flight. We would like to extend our gratitude to our customers for their continued understanding and patience.”
All passengers are advised to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport on www.emirates.com . Passengers are asked not to go to the airport unless they have a confirmed seat on a flight, Emirates said.
Online check in is currently suspended for all Emirates flights, the carrier added.
“Emirates’ customers affected by the disruption can cancel their booking or change their onward destination without charge. All re-issue and cancellation fees will be waived while the disruption is ongoing.”
On Wednesday, Emirates recommenced flights to UK after a six-day shutdown caused by the impact of the Icelandic ash cloud.
Mohammed Mattar, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, airport services, said: “We know this is not easy and people have been very patient, but we need everyone’s cooperation to resolve this as quickly as possible. This is unprecedented as far as we are concerned and our staff are doing all they can to place passengers on flights as capacity becomes available. The number of remaining transit passengers in Dubai continues to dwindle with each departing flight.”
Mattar added: “If your flight is confirmed to operate and you are holding a confirmed ticket, it’s ok to go to the airport. If you were booked on a flight that was cancelled and not holding a confirmed seat on an alternative flight, we ask you not to go to the airport. Please get in touch with Emirates or your travel agent.”
At the height of the havoc caused by the volcanic ash clouds from Iceland, Emirates had a fifth of its fleet grounded and up to 6,000 transit passengers accommodated in hotels across Dubai. Losses were running at US$ 10 million per day.
In all, more than 270 flights across the Emirates’ network were cancelled, affecting the travel plans of about 100,000 passengers.
There have also been developments for the more than 2,000 tonnes of cargo which was held up in Dubai.
Ram Menen, divisional senior vice president, cargo, said: “Emirates SkyCargo has now cleared its backlogged cargo in Dubai. We are operating a normal service to the UK and Europe. Customers with new bookings should contact their local office.”
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