Emirates has announced plans to reopen four more UK lounges in the coming weeks, as the airline continues to rebuild its network.
The carrier reopened its Heathrow T3 facility in September, and will restart lounge operations at Birmingham and Manchester this month, followed by Glasgow and Gatwick in January.
As noted on our forum, Dublin’s East Lounge will also reopen for Emirates’ first and business class passengers from December 14.
The news comes as Emirates resumed flights to Gatwick this week. The carrier had initially planned to operate the route with an B777 aircraft, but this was upgraded to the A380 superjumbo following “an upsurge in passenger demand”.
The airline is currently offering 84 weekly UK flights – a six times daily A380 London Heathrow service, double daily A380 flights to Manchester, a ten-weekly service to Birmingham, a daily service to Glasgow and Gatwick, and a four-weekly service to Newcastle.
Emirates will also add a second daily Gatwick service from January 27, 2022.
Commenting on the news Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president at Emirates UK, said:
“We have continued to see demand for international travel, particularly from the South East, and are pleased to resuming operations from Gatwick.
“Emirates is fully committed to the UK and we have operated flights from the airport for over 30 years, providing vital connectivity to Dubai and beyond for passengers travelling for business, leisure or to visit friends and family.
“The route has also carried billions of pounds worth of cargo into and out of the region – supporting UK businesses of all shapes and sizes.”