Emirates has taken the final step in the restoration of its Australia capacity announcing its return to Adelaide. A daily service will relaunch between the South Australia capital and the airline’s Dubai hub on 28 October 2024.

The reinstated service will facilitate the growing travel demand to and from South Australia and allow passengers to travel conveniently between more than 140 destinations across Emirates’ global network, offering a wide range of choice, flexibility, and connectivity.

Emirates first launched its Adelaide services in 2012 and carried more than 165,000 passengers between Dubai and Adelaide in 2019. By 1 December, when Emirates also reinstates its second daily service to Perth, the airline will offer 77 weekly flights from Australia with the ability to transport 68,000 passengers per week to and from Australia, returning to its pre-pandemic capacity.

Emirates’ return is a major milestone for South Australia’s pandemic recovery. The tourism expenditure of daily direct non-stop Emirates’ flights is estimated by South Australian Tourism Commission to generate more than $62 million per year and create in excess of 315 full-time equivalent tourism-related jobs for South Australians. Each flight will also offer 14 tonnes of cargo space, totalling 196 tonnes weekly between Dubai and Adelaide. The value of freight exports is estimated to be $98 million per year, bringing the total estimated expenditure generated by Emirates’ flights to Adelaide to $160 million.

Fly Better with Emirates from Adelaide

Operating daily on the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft with 38 Business Class seats alongside 264 seats in Economy Class, the Adelaide service will offer 302 seats per flight and over 4,200 weekly seats between Dubai and Adelaide. Emirates Business Class on the Adelaide service will feature a 2-2-2 configuration.

Emirates’ EK440 will depart from Dubai at 02:00hrs and arrive in Adelaide at 20:50hrs. Emirates’ return flight EK441 will depart from Adelaide at 22:35hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:15hrs. All times are local.

With Emirates’ extensive network of more than 140 destinations around the world, the relaunch of the Emirates Dubai-Adelaide service provides a vital link to South Australia’s traditionally strong European markets, as well as the United Kingdom, Middle East, India, and the east coast of the United States.

The flight schedule connects passengers with Emirates’ prime European arrival and departure times offering a seamless travel experience and optimal connections of less than four hours.

With Dubai being a key global connection point, travellers are expected to venture from Adelaide to London, Rome, Dubai, Paris, Amsterdam, Manchester, Athens, Dublin, Barcelona, and Milan. Top inbound are expected to be London, Manchester, Dubai, Birmingham, Paris, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf.

Emirates currently serves Australia with 63 weekly flights to Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, operated by a mix of A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft transporting 56,000 passengers per week to and from these major cities. The airline has recently announced doubling its Premium Economy offering on flights to Melbourne which started on 1 February, adding to the two daily four-class A380 services to Sydney. From 1 October, Emirates will upgauge its second service between Dubai and Brisbane to an A380, creating an all A380 operation from Brisbane. From 1 December, Emirates will reinstate its second Perth service on a Boeing 777-300ER, joining the existing A380 service.