Emirates has made this announcement:

As part of Emirates’ commitment to continuous innovation and an unmatched customer experience, the airline has launched an integrated biometric path at Dubai International airport (DXB). The contactless airport experience is now open to Emirates passengers travelling from and through Dubai.

The integrated biometric path will give passengers a seamless travel journey from specific check-in to boarding gates, improving customer flow through the airport with less document checks and less queuing. Utilising the latest biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates passengers can now check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport. The various touchpoints in the Biometric path allow for a hygienic contactless travel journey, reducing human interaction and putting emphasis on health and safety.

The biometric touchpoints are currently installed at select First, Business and Economy Class check-in desks in Terminal 3 at DXB; immigration gates including a “smart tunnel”; Emirates’ premium lounge entrance at concourse B as well select boarding gates. Areas where biometric equipment are installed will be clearly marked and additional units will be installed at each touchpoint in the future.

The Smart Tunnel, a project by the General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) in collaboration with Emirates, is a world-first for passport control, where passengers simply walk through a tunnel and are “cleared” by immigration authorities without human intervention or the need for a physical passport stamp.

Emirates is also the first airline outside America to receive approval for biometric boarding from the U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP). Customers flying from Dubai to Emirates’ destinations in the U.S. will be able to choose facial recognition technology at the departure gates.

The biometric path is the latest in a host of initiatives by Emirates to provide a smart contactless journey. In the last month, the airline has introduced other services including self-check-in and bag drop kiosks at DXB for a smoother airport experience.

Emirates will be providing more options and choice for its customers in Jordan with the introduction of scheduled Airbus A380 services to Amman as part of its expanded schedule of 10 weekly services. The expanded flight schedule between Dubai and Amman demonstrates the airline’s commitment to safely connect customers to and through Dubai to the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

The iconic A380 will begin serving travelers to and from Amman from November 4, 2020. The airline currently operates the A380 to Cairo, Paris, London Heathrow, Guangzhou and Moscow.

Customers can fly the Emirates A380 from Dubai to Amman three times a week on Wednesdays, Thursday and Fridays. Emirates flight EK 903 will depart Dubai at 14:05 and arrive in Amman at 15:30 local time. The return flight, EK 904 will depart Amman at 17:10 and arrive in Dubai at 22:00 local time.

The expanded schedule also includes flights EK 905 and EK 906. Emirates flight EK 905 will depart Dubai at 22:15 and arrive in Amman at 23:40 local time. The return flight, EK 906 will depart Amman at 01:45 and arrive in Dubai at 06:40 local time. Timings have been scheduled to facilitate more effective onward connections to destinations in the United States such as well as vital connections to European points popular with Jordanian travellers.

Photo: Emirates.

Emirates has announced it will resume flights to Budapest (from October 21), Bologna (November 1), Dusseldorf (November 1), Hamburg (November 1) and Lyon (November 4), expanding its European network to 31 destinations, and offering customers around the world convenient connections via Dubai.

The addition of these five destinations takes Emirates’ global network to 99 destinations, as the airline continues to gradually meet travel demand, while always prioritising the health and safety of its customers, crew and communities.

Flights to/from Budapest and Lyon will operate twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays while flights to/from Bologna, Dusseldorf and Hamburg will operate twice a week on Fridays and Sundays.

All flights to the five cities will be operated by the Boeing 777- 300ER, providing robust cargo capacity on each flight.

Emirates will re-start passenger services to Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) with two flights a week, starting September 11. The resumption of flights to Moscow will take the airline’s expanding network in Europe to 26 cities – offering Emirates’ global customers with more travel options to Europe, and customers in Russia with renewed connections to the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa via Dubai.

Emirates has been gradually restoring its network connectivity, working closely with international and local authorities to responsibly resume passenger operations to meet travel demand, while always prioritising the health and safety of its customers, crew and communities. The addition of Moscow will take Emirates’ global network to 85 cities in September.

Flights to Moscow will operate twice a week – on Fridays and Saturdays. On Fridays, Emirates flight EK 133 will depart Dubai at 10:10hrs and arrive in Moscow at 14:25hrs local time. The return flight, EK 134 will depart Moscow at 17:35hrs and arrive in Dubai at 23:35hrs local time. On Saturdays, Emirates flight EK 131 will depart Dubai at 16:15hrs and arrive in Moscow at 20:30hrs local time. The return flight, EK 132 will depart Moscow at 23:20hrs and arrive in Dubai at 05:30hrs local time, the following day.

The flights will operate with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER.

Emirates indicated optimism that it will be able to operate 100 percent of its network of destinations by summer of next year, returning to serving more than 140 cities, and gradually putting its Airbus A380 fleet back into service on routes with high demand.

Emirates has announced the resumption of passenger services to Bangkok with daily flights starting from September 1, 2020.

The resumption of flights to Bangkok will expand Emirates’ current network to 78 cities in September, offering travellers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific convenient connections via Dubai to the popular Thai destination.

Flights between Dubai and Bangkok will be operated with an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering seats in First, Business and Economy class. Starting from 1 September, flight EK384 will depart Dubai daily at 01:50 and arrive in Bangkok at 11:30, while the return flight, EK385, will depart Bangkok at 03:25, and arrive in Dubai at 06:35, from 2 September.

Emirates also announced the resumption of passenger services to Lusaka with two weekly flights to/from Dubai effective September 4, 2020, which will boost the airline’s global network to 79 cities.

The restart of services to Lusaka will offer Emirates customers in Zambia the opportunity to travel to Dubai, as well as an array of onward connections to Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the Americas through the airline’s Dubai hub. The addition of Lusaka also broadens Emirates’ reach into Africa with nine destinations served.

Flights to Lusaka will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER. Starting from 4 September, Emirates will serve Lusaka on Fridays and Sundays. Emirates’ flight EK 713 will depart from Dubai at 0820hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 1330hrs. The return flight, EK 714 departs Lusaka at 1530hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0025hrs the next day. Customers can book flights on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Emirates has announced it will resume passenger services to Birmingham (September 1), Cebu (August 20), and Houston (August 23). This will bring the airline’s network to 74 destinations, offering travellers convenient connections between the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas through its Dubai hub.

Flights between Dubai and Birmingham will operate four times a week, while flights between Dubai and Cebu will operate two times a week, utilising an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

Emirates’ flights between Dubai and Houston will operate three times a week, utilising an Emirates Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The airline currently offers passenger services to five gateways in the United States including New York JFK, Washington DC, Boston (15 August), Chicago and Los Angeles – expanding its U.S. network to six cities, and offering 27 weekly flights to the country.

Customers can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors. COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from.

Destination Dubai: From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai is one of the most popular global destinations. In 2019, the city welcomed 16.7 million visitors and hosted over hundreds of global meetings and exhibitions, as well as sports and entertainment events. Dubai was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.

Free, global cover for COVID-19 related costs: Customers can now travel with confidence, as Emirates has committed to cover COVID-19 related medical expenses, free of cost, should they be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel while they are away from home. This cover is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until 31 October 2020 (first flight to be completed on or before 31 October 2020), and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey. This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination. For more details: www.emirates.com/COVID19assistance.

Emirates has announced that it will deploy its iconic Airbus A380 aircraft to Guangzhou from August 8, 2020. The airline has also restarted its A380 operations to Amsterdam and Cairo this week, and introduced a second daily A380 service to London Heathrow, serving market demand and offering customers more travel options.

Emirates has so far resumed A380 services to 5 cities and it will gradually expand the deployment of this popular aircraft in line with demand and operational approvals. The Emirates A380 experience remains highly sought after by travellers for its spacious and comfortable cabins.

Customers can currently fly the Emirates A380 daily to Amsterdam, four times a week to Cairo, twice daily to London Heathrow, once daily to Paris, and once weekly to Guangzhou (from 8 August).

Over the past week, Emirates has also resumed flights from Dubai to Addis Ababa, Clark, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Prague, São Paulo, Stockholm and Seychelles. With safety as a priority, the airline is gradually expanding its passenger services to 68 cities in August, returning to 50% of its pre-pandemic destination network.

Passengers travelling between the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Asia Pacific can enjoy safe and convenient connections via Dubai. Customers from Emirates’ network can stop over or travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors.

COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from.