Emirates further expands operations and strengthens its commitment to South Africa – Dubai Blog

Emirates announced today that it will expand its operations in and out of South Africa, increasing its weekly flight time to 28 by October. This is the airline’s largest weekly flight to South Africa since the beginning of the pandemic, and is designed to provide more competitive options for customers who wish to visit Dubai and travel through Dubai to the airline’s network of more than 120 global destinations.

As operations increase, Johannesburg’s daily flights will increase by one, including the introduction of Emirates’ iconic A380 on one of the daily flights, as well as daily flights to Cape Town and Durban. From October 31, 2021, all of the airline’s gateways in South Africa have added new frequencies and capacity.

From January 1, 2022, Emirates will provide two daily A380 services to Johannesburg.The airline’s flagship and customer favorites will provide South African passengers with the best in-flight experience, including first-class private suites, luxurious shower spas, popular in-flight lounges, and spacious seats in economy and premium economy classes* Equipped with the industry’s largest seat back screen, allowing customers to enjoy more than 4,500 channels of on-demand entertainment ice.

Emirates expanded its flight schedule in response to the surge in customer demand in Dubai, as tourist visas have been opened to all nationalities, and it has also relaxed some destination restrictions, and now allows South Africans to enter without quarantine. Emirates is also firmly committed to supporting the recovery of South Africa’s tourism industry by enhancing the connectivity of international tourists into South Africa.

Dubai has long been one of the most popular holiday destinations for South African travelers, and remains one of the most visited and recommended destinations in the world, with world-class experiences and new attractions suitable for all ages, backgrounds and budgets. Since reopening in July 2020, the city has safely hosted more than 4 million overnight leisure and business tourists. With the 2020 Dubai Expo approaching, the city is also ready to welcome visitors to the world’s largest gathering, which includes next-generation themed pavilions, futuristic installations and a rich daily activity program.

South African travelers to Dubai must present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate with a QR code within 48 hours after the sample is collected by an approved local medical institution. Passengers going to Dubai must also present a rapid PCR test report with a QR code so that they can be tested at the departure airport within six hours of departure. Passengers arriving in Dubai will need to be tested again for COVID-19 PCR when they arrive at Dubai International Airport. All passengers transiting through Dubai must complete all requirements for their final destination.More information about admission requirements can be found here.

As South African Airways (SAA) resumes operations on the 23rd^road In September, Emirates will resume its strategic partnership and cooperation with the country’s flag carrier. The Emirates SAA partnership dates back to 1997 and is the first codeshare agreement between Emirates and another airline. Before the pandemic, the partnership developed to include a complementary joint network of 110 destinations, optimized timetables, better connections for customers, as well as baggage transfer and enhanced reciprocal frequent flyer benefits.

Since the start of the strategic cooperation, nearly 370,000 passengers have benefited from the partnership between Emirates and South African Airways. Taking into account the convenience of customers, we are planning to expand the ability to book connecting flights between two airlines in one itinerary again.

With the resumption of the SAA partnership, Emirates is strengthening its footprint in South Africa and Southern Africa, establishing four intermodal and code-sharing partnerships, including Airlink, Cemair and FlySafair, and enhancing it through another 79 code-sharing and intermodal cities The airline’s route map provides customers with more flights, more convenient access to regional destinations, and a better travel experience.

*The latest A380 is equipped with premium economy class for limited destinations