Scotland said a big “Hello” to the Airbus A380 on April 10, 2014 when the Super Jumbo made its first ever appearance at one of the nation’s airports. The Emirates Airline aircraft operated a one-off service to Glasgow Airport to mark its 10 year anniversary of its operations from Dubai and continued commitment to Scotland. Its arrival on one of the carrier’s scheduled daily flights brought thousands of aviation fans to the airport’s perimeter and other vantage points to view the landmark arrival.
Speaking at an official reception held at the airport, Hubert Frach, senior divisional vice president commercial operations west, Emirates Airline said: “As the world’s largest A380 operator, we feel privileged to mark this historic milestone in Glasgow, which also represents a historic milestone for Scotland, as it welcomes an A380 into the region for the first time. Scotland continues to be a vital passenger and cargo market for Emirates and we hope that today underlines our continued commitment to the region.”
Amanda McMillan, Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, said: “Over the course of the last 10 years Emirates has established itself as Scotland’s leading long-haul airline and we are honoured it has chosen to mark our 10 year partnership by operating Scotland’s first commercial A380 service. This is a significant milestone for Glasgow and for Scottish aviation.
“We have worked hard with Emirates to ensure the success of its Dubai service and today is yet another example of its steadfast commitment to Scotland following the introduction of a second daily flight in 2012. While today is billed as a one-off, we hope it is the first step towards Glasgow Airport securing a daily A380 service with Emirates,” she added.
Since commencing operations at Glasgow Airport on April 10, 2004, Emirates has carried over 2.4 million passengers across its global network, which now covers 141 destinations. Emirates currently offers over 43,000 passenger seats per month to and from Glasgow, following the upgrade of its second daily service to a Boeing 777 in 2012. In addition to passengers, over the past 10 years Emirates has transported over 50,000 tonnes of cargo to and from Glasgow, including 12 million kilogrammes of Scottish whisky and other popular commodities such as seafood, oil drilling machinery and electrical equipment.
In our analysis below we highlight the growth in passenger numbers between Glasgow and Dubai over the past ten years based upon official statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Our own analysis of MIDT data shows the top ten O&D markets on Emirates' flights to and from Glasgow in 2013. These were: Dubai (31.4 per cent), Bangkok, (5.1 per cent), Lahore (4.6 per cent), Perth (4.4 per cent), Hong Kong (3.2 per cent), Singapore (3.2 per cent), Delhi (2.6 per cent), Sydney (2.8 per cent), Kuala Lumpur (1.9 per cent) and Islamabad (1.9 per cent).
Emirates is also opening a new lounge facility at Glasgow Airport in time for the Commonwealth Games this summer for the region’s First and Business Class passengers and Platinum and Gold Skywards members. In another first, this new addition will highlight Emirates as the only non-UK carrier with a dedicated lounge at the airport, signifying its ever-growing presence in Scotland.
With 30 airlines serving more than 100 destinations worldwide, including Canada, the US, the Caribbean, Europe, North Africa and the Gulf, Glasgow Airport is Scotland’s principal long-haul airport. In addition to being Scotland’s largest charter hub, Glasgow Airport serves more Scottish destinations than any other airport and is a key component of Scotland’s transport infrastructure.
The second phase of Glasgow Airport’s extensive £17 million investment programme, which will transform large areas of the terminal ahead of the Commonwealth Games, is well underway. The works include the extension of the international arrivals area, the addition of new seating and the landscaping of a new public space at the front of the building.
You can view some images from Emirates’ special A380 flight to Glasgow, below:
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