Emirates will ramp up its operations in China ahead of the New Lunar Year and in response to strong travel demand, boosting connectivity to its gateways; Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing as the country reopens its borders and eases its COVID-related entry restrictions.

Shanghai – service resumption from 20 January 2023 with twice weekly service, gradually increasing to daily service from 1 March

Emirates will resume passenger services to Shanghai starting with two weekly flights operated by an Airbus A380 aircraft from 20 January 2023, with EK302 departing from Dubai to Shanghai non-stop and EK303 making a short stop in Bangkok before returning to Dubai. This service will ramp up in frequency to four weekly flights operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from 02 February 2023.

During this period, Emirates’ flight EK302 will depart Dubai at 03:45hrs and arrive in Shanghai at 15:40hrs. The return flight EK303 will depart Shanghai at 17:40hrs and arrive in Bangkok at 21:45hrs before taking off from the Thai capital at 23:20hrs and arriving in Dubai at 03:20hrs the next day.*

Emirates will further boost its Dubai-Shanghai route from 1 March 2023 with a daily non-stop service. Emirates’ flight EK304 will depart Dubai at 09:15hrs and arrive in Shanghai at 21:05hrs. The return flight EK303 will leave Shanghai at 23:00hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:20hrs the next day.*

Guangzhou – daily nonstop from 1 February 2023

Emirates currently operates a non-stop flight from Dubai to Guangzhou as EK362, and a return flight from Guangzhou to Dubai via Bangkok as EK363, four times a week.

Starting from 1 February 2023, the airline will increase services between Dubai and Guangzhou with EK362/EK363 operating as daily non-stop flights with the flagship Emirates A380. Emirates’ flight EK362 will leave Dubai at 10:45hrs and arrive in Guangzhou at 21:45hrs. The return flight EK363 will depart Guangzhou at 00:15hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:15hrs.*

Beijing – service resumption from 15 March 2023

Operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, Emirates’ flight EK308/ EK307 will return to China’s capital city Beijing with a daily non-stop service from Dubai, starting from 15 March 2023. Emirates’ flight EK308 will leave Dubai at 10:50hrs and arrive in Beijing at 22:20hrs. The return flight EK307 will depart Beijing at 00:40hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:00hrs.*

This will bring the airline’s operations in the market up to 21 weekly flights, providing increased choice and flexibility for both business and leisure travellers, and contributing to China’s tourism recovery.

Emirates has been serving China for nearly two decades and has established its presence in the Chinese market through strategic partnerships and a continued commitment to the local community throughout the pandemic. Emirates offers travellers increased connectivity to 24 domestic points via Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, as well as 6 regional points via Guangzhou through its partnership with China Southern Airline, while simultaneously providing its partner-airline’s customers access to 6 destinations within the Middle East and Africa regions. Travellers can also benefit from Emirates' existing interline agreements with Air China, China Eastern and Cathay Pacific to access even more domestic Chinese cities.

Emirates is continuing its restoration of operations in Australia with the introduction of an additional daily service to Brisbane. This comes as the airline proudly celebrates 20 years of serving Brisbane, one of Emirates’ four Australian gateways in its global network.

Starting 1 June 2023, Emirates will operate the second daily flight to and from Brisbane with a Boeing 777-300ER. Emirates flight EK 430 takes off from Dubai at 0230hrs, arriving in Brisbane at 2220hrs. The return flight, EK 431, departs Brisbane at 0250hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1100hrs local time. The airline currently serves Brisbane with a daily A380 flight.

The additional service means Emirates will be back to operating at pre-pandemic levels to Brisbane. The expansion will boost capacity through Brisbane by more than a quarter of a million seats per year both ways.

Barry Brown, Divisional Vice President Australasia at Emirates, said: “Our second daily service to Brisbane begins as we proudly celebrate 20 years of flying to the sunshine state. Not only will this service cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas, but also welcome more travellers and tourists from Dubai and across our global network to enjoy Queensland, Australia’s tourism mecca.

“The additional service combined with our daily A380 to Brisbane means Emirates will offer almost 12,000 seats to and from Brisbane every week. This is another important milestone in the resumption of our Australian capacity and reaffirms our longstanding commitment to flying down under. We look forward to welcoming more Australians on board to enjoy the Emirates experience.”

“This is a huge vote of confidence in the Brisbane and Queensland market. It effectively doubles overnight the Emirates capacity between the two cities, delivering more seats for major Middle East and European markets. In terms of rebuilding what was lost by covid, this is a significant brick in the wall,” according to Gert-Jan de Graaff, CEO of Brisbane Airport Corporation.

“In October we will celebrate 20 years since Emirates began flying into Brisbane. Through the depths of the pandemic, the airline continued to provide a lifeline to repatriate Australians and enable crucial Queensland exports to continue."

The expansion was secured under the $200 million joint State Government and industry Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was created to boost Queensland’s tourism economy.

Acting Premier of Queensland, Steven Miles welcomed the injection of passenger and freight capacity by Emirates: “The extra service is estimated to provide an additional 730 direct and indirect jobs for the state. Emirates’ extensive worldwide network to over 130 destinations will ensure a high level of connectivity with the United Kingdom, Europe, Scandinavia, Africa and North America.”

With the additional frequency starting in Brisbane on 1 June 2023, Emirates will operate 49 weekly flights to Australia, supporting the revival of tourism and bolstering trade and business opportunities by providing travellers with even more access to and from Australia.

Emirates has been serving Australia for more than 25 years, transporting over 40 million passengers to and from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and other destinations via its Dubai hub since 1996. The airline takes tremendous pride in enhancing travel options for customers travelling to and from Australia, strengthening the global reach of local businesses through its expansive network, and benefiting thriving travel and tourism industries by drawing in visitors.

* All times are local