Big Birds Are Back: Emirates’ A380s return to the skies

Emirates feels it’s time to get the big birds back up in the skies, resuming services to London and Paris on Wednesday. The A380s, also known as Superjumbos, have been grounded since March.

The Dubai based carrier will deploy its A380 on its daily Amsterdam service, and add a second daily A380 service to London Heathrow starting from August 1.

This announcement follows the Emirates A380’s return to the skies on Wednesday with EK001 to London Heathrow, which took off from Dubai International airport at 0745hrs and EK073 at 0820hrs to Paris.

The airline said Emirates flight EK073 received a special welcome on arrival at Paris Charles De Gaulle, as it became the only scheduled A380 flight to operate at this major European airport since the pandemic began.

Emirates will also restart scheduled passenger services to seven more cities – Athens, Barcelona, Geneva, Glasgow, Larnaca, Munich, and Rome – offering its customers more travel options. The airline will resume flights to Malé (today), Washington DC (today), and Brussels (17 July), Emirates said in a statement.

Travellers in Business and First class can no longer take an in-flight shower or enjoy a beverage at the upper deck lounge as both services have been halted for safety concerns during the pandemic.

The airline has also introduced several new measures designed to keep travellers safe. These include complimentary hygiene kits for passengers, reduced interaction with Emirates crew and plexi-glass screens at check-in counters.