EMIRATES has today (29 October) announced the relaunch of its daily service between Adelaide and Dubai (United Arab Emirates), which will offer passengers over 4200 weekly seats between the UAE’s largest city and South Australia’s capital.
The service will see a Boeing 777-200LR fly between both cities, which offers 302 seats across two cabins, and will allow more than 220,400 passengers to travel between Dubai and Adelaide per year.
The airline said the move reflects Emirates’ commitment to South Australia (SA) and facilitating growing travel demand to and from the region, and its return is expected to have a significant impact on the southern state’s economy and tourism industry.
Emirates said tourism expenditure of daily direct non-stop Emirates flights is estimated by the South Australian Tourism Commission to generate more than $62 million per year, and create more than 315 full-time equivalent tourism-related jobs for South Australians.
In terms of aircargo, Emirates SkyCargo intends to further strengthen trade links between SA and the wider world, including key markets across the Middle East, Europe, and USA, with each daily flight to offer 14 tonnes of cargo space, totalling 196 tonnes weekly between Dubai and Adelaide.
Key anticipated exports range from seafood (fish and mussels), meat products, and fruits and vegetables, to general cargo consisting of pharmaceuticals, machinery parts, retail garments, and electronics.
Emirates said the value of freight exports is estimated to be $98 million per year, bringing the total generated by Emirates’ flights to Adelaide to $160 million.
South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas said the return of Emirates’ daily service to Adelaide is significant for the state.
“We’re not just welcoming back a world-class airline; we’re re-opening South Australia’s doors to the world, showcasing our beautiful state to over 220,000 potential visitors each year,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“This reconnection to Dubai and beyond will benefit our economy, creating jobs and opening up new opportunities for trade and tourism.
“This is a clear vote of confidence in South Australia’s future, and we’re ready to make the most of it.”
Emirates’ executive vice president of passenger sales and country management, Nabil Sultan, said Australia remains a priority market for the airline and one that it has been deeply committed to for nearly three decades.
“The Emirates flights not only facilitate trade flows but allow us to provide South Australians with access to a world-class travel experience and seamless connectivity through our Dubai hub to more than 140 destinations around the world,” Mr Sultan said.
“We also look forward to further supporting ever-important cargo opportunities for businesses in South Australia, as well as to the rest of our Australia network through our freight operations.”
Zoe Bettison, the South Australian minister for tourism, said “Now South Australia is even more appealing to some of our key international markets, as Emirates eases the connection between our great state and over 140 destinations worldwide”.
“Emirates’ return will be a major player in our efforts to grow the state’s international market, which is currently worth $1.3 billion to South Australia’s visitor economy.”
One of the largest airlines in the world by both passengers carries and freight-tonne kilometres, Emirates now operates 70 weekly services from Australia’s five largest cities.
On 1 December this year, Emirates will reinstate its second daily service to Perth, offering 77 weekly flights from Australia with the capacity to transport 68,000 passengers per week to and from Australia, returning to its pre-pandemic capacity.
