The UAE-based carrier has boosted A380 services to the British capital ahead of the holiday rush.

Emirates has from today (December 1), reintroduced a third daily Airbus A380 link to London/Gatwick.

A Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered super jumbo, A6-EUN (c/n 226), performed Flights EK 011/012 early this morning. These complement the existing links to Gatwick with EK 015/016 and EK 009/010, operating around early afternoon and late evening, respectively.

According to the Gulf carrier, the move comes as it aims to “meet sustained demand” ahead of the holiday rush. More than 1,000 seats are now offered each day from the West Sussex gateway to Dubai/International.

Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president, Emirates UK, said: “As we gear up for the busy festive period, we are delighted to offer our customers better connectivity with the additional third daily flight to and from London/Gatwick. [The West Sussex site] is a vital hub for us in London and the UK and our operations from the airport connect both passengers and businesses with our ever-growing global network.”

Stephanie Wear, VP of aviation development, Gatwick Airport, added: “We are delighted to welcome Emirates’ third daily flight to London/Gatwick. Dubai is consistently among the most popular destinations for our passengers, so to have three options each day to fly to the UAE, and beyond, is fantastic news, particularly ahead of the busy holiday period.”

Prior to COVID-19, Gatwick was served by the airline on a thrice-daily frequency with A380s.

At present, Emirates operates 119-weekly rotations to the UK across seven gateways which, along with Gatwick, also comprise Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Glasgow.