Emirates to fly Manchester to Dubai three times a day in return to pre-pandemic schedule

Airline Emirates has confirmed it is returning to its pre-pandemic flight schedule from Manchester Airport to help meet a boom in demand.

From 1 October 2022, the airline will restart its three times a day services, seven days a week, offering 1,500 passengers a day more direct services to Dubai.

The revised flight schedule will see Emirates reintroduce flight EK022 which will depart Manchester at 9.50am, arriving in Dubai at 8pm local time. The return flight, EK021 will depart Dubai at 3am, arriving in Manchester at 7.45am local time. From 30 October, a slightly later flight schedule will operate.

It comes after the airport’s most monthly figures showed traveller numbers had returned overall to nearly 85% of pre-pandemic levels.

Richard Jewsbury, Divisional Vice President, Emirates UK, said: “As more international destinations have relaxed travel restrictions and opened up, demand has continued to rise, and we’re delighted to offer better connectivity to our customers with this schedule. Manchester is a vital hub for us in the UK and our operations from the airport connect both passengers and businesses in the North West with our ever-growing global network.”

Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, added: “It is excellent to see Emirates reinstate its third daily frequency here at Manchester Airport. It’s a clear indication of the demand to fly from here to Dubai and beyond, and of the role we play in connecting the North to key global destinations.

“I am sure the additional flight will be hugely popular with the 22m people in our catchment area, and myself and the team look forward to working with Emirates as they continue to grow from Manchester Airport.”

Emirates is the UK’s largest international travel carrier and also operates out of Heathrow, Gatwick, London Stansted, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.

The news comes shortly after Chinese airline Hainan announced direct flights would resume Manchester to Beijing.