Emirates renews its long-standing offer for flights to Berlin

EmiratesThe world’s largest long-haul airline, has renewed its long-standing interest in serving Berlin, which would require an expanded air services agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Germany.

The airline’s president, Tim Clark, and Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey met Wednesday at the company’s headquarters in Dubai to discuss “Berlin’s potential for greater international long-haul connectivity.” Emirates he said in a statement Thursday.

Starting flights to Berlin would require Germany to approve more Emirates flights.

The Dubai-based long-haul giant is looking to expand beyond the four german cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Dusseldorf which it can currently serve.

Under an existing bilateral agreement signed in 1994, adding Berlin would mean abandoning operations to one of these four destinations.

For more than 20 years, Emirates has publicly expressed interest in adding daily flights to Berlin to its network and expanding its operations in Germany.

“We welcome that Ms. Giffey is advocating for more long-haul flight rights for Berlin and appreciate the ongoing dialogue,” Mr. Clark said.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport, opened in October 2020 after several delays and obstacles, has some direct flights with the Middle East. Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Egypt Air are among the major regional airlines, according to the airport’s website.

“Emirates firmly believes that Berlin Brandenburg has great potential to become a successful destination for long-haul flights,” Clark added.

“We hope to be able to operate Berlin Brandenburg Airport in the future. “We would start flying to Berlin as soon as possible, if that were allowed in addition to our four existing German destinations.”

By adding the German capital to its global route network, Emirates will be able to provide direct access to tourists and business travelers from around the world to and from Berlin, while also offering more cargo capacity for the transportation of goods, the airline said.

“We appreciate Emirates’ continued interest in connecting the German capital to the world,” said Ms Giffey, who also said the senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises.

“Berlin-Brandenburg Airport serves the metropolitan region and much of eastern Germany, one of the most dynamic regions in Europe.

“Our goal is to expand the existing long-haul network and I am glad to see Emirates as a partner in this endeavour.”

Starting October 30, the low-cost airline Eurowings of the Lufthansa group will fly four times a week from Berlin to Dubai non-stop, according to the website of Berlin Brandenburg Airport.

Gitex 2025 in Berlin

Emirates began operations with Germany in July 1987 with two weekly flights to Frankfurt.

Since then, it began providing services to three additional points: Munich in November 1999, Dusseldorf in March 2001 and Hamburg in March 2006. It currently has 63 weekly services to Germany.

“It has been 17 years since Emirates added a new destination in Germany. “We see Berlin Brandenburg as a natural evolution and an ideal next step in this long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship,” said an Emirates official. The National.

Seat fill factors (a measure of how well an airline fills available seats) in and out of the German cities Emirates serves “have always been healthy,” he said.

“Germany is one of the most important markets in the Emirates network and, as a commercially focused and market-oriented airline, we firmly believe in Berlin Brandenburg’s impressive credentials as a profitable intercontinental market,” he said.

“We know that the tourist flows are there and clearly there is a corporate segment characterized by rapid growth.”

For example, a daily Emirates Boeing 777 flight would also offer Brandenburg-based companies more than 280 tonnes of cargo space per week in both directions for urgent imports and exports, according to the airline’s head of accounting.

Meanwhile, Gitex, the annual global technology exhibition, will expand to Europe, where it will be held in the German capital in 2025, it said in a statement on October 18. The event will debut from May 21 to 23, 2025.

Berlin has attracted a global influx of tech talent, entrepreneurs and investors and is now home to 5,600 start-up and growing tech companies, according to the Gitex statement. One in every two euros of all German funding goes to a Berlin startup.

“With Berlin hosting the European version of Gitex starting in 2025, there is an even greater need for greater air connectivity,” the Emirates said.

Updated: October 19, 2023, 1:37 p.m.