Emirates Airline said it will make “capacity adjustments” for flights to London Heathrow (LHR) and temporarily direct more services to London Gatwick (LGW).
The plan appears to be a retreat by Emirates, which previously refused Heathrow’s request that airlines temporarily stop selling flight tickets for LHR-bound flights as part of an effort to restore smoother service at the crowded hub after weeks of severe operational problems. In a sharply worded statement issued earlier this month, Emirates said Heathrow’s request was “entirely unreasonable and unacceptable, and we reject these demands.”
But the confrontation has apparently eased, with Emirates saying it will add a third daily flight between its Dubai (DXB) base and LGW from July 27 to Aug. 3. “This third daily flight will help serve high demand from customers traveling to and from London this summer,” Emirates said in a statement. “It will also provide additional seats to accommodate Emirates passengers affected by capacity adjustments on flights from London Heathrow, which will be made to help ease operational pressures at the airport.”
The airline will use a Boeing 777 to fly the third LGW daily service.
Emirates said it will continue to operate 6X-daily service between DXB and LHR, but capacity has been temporarily capped. The carrier operates Airbus A380s on the route.
Emirates also said it will stick to plans to resume service to London Stansted (STN) from Aug. 1, giving it flights to three London airports, restoring the options it offered prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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