Emirates has almost fully restored its global network, including Australasia, progressively reconnecting the world through Dubai after recent airspace disruptions due to the Middle East conflict impacted services worldwide.
After two months of service disruption, Emirates has resumed most flight routes across the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.
For Australasia, Emirates is still running at about 77 per cent of its originally planned schedule on the interim timetable to 15 May.
For Australia to Dubai, this includes twice-daily flights from Sydney and Melbourne, daily flights from Brisbane and Perth and thrice-weekly services from Adelaide.
From New Zealand, EK’s flight schedule has a daily service from Christchurch and four weekly flights from Auckland to Dubai.
The UAE carrier said it is adding more flights, seats and options every day to reaffirm both its leading airline position and Dubai as a global hub.
It follows the UAE lifting all temporary airspace and airport restrictions on 2 May 2026, clearing the way for the Dubai-based airline to return to a full network schedule.
Emirates still operated a reduced schedule during the disruption, carrying 4.7 million passengers between 1 March and 30 April.
From 4 May 2026, EK now operates flights to 137 destinations in 72 countries, representing 75 per cent of pre-disruption capacity.
Dubai International Airport lost two-thirds of its monthly passenger traffic in March 2026, plunging by 66 per cent year-on-year to handle just 2.5 million travellers.
It’s a steep decline for the world’s consistently busiest airport for international passenger traffic, serving more than 95 million travellers in 2025.
Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths had forecast 99.5 million passengers for 2026, conceding the 100 million milestone would now push out to 2027 due to recent events.
Dubai International Airport was directly attacked by an Iranian missile strike in early March, sustaining minor damage to a concourse and injuries to airport workers.
KARRYON UNPACKS: For travel advisors, the resumption of Emirates’ global network means improved long-haul connectivity and capacity, particularly between Australia, New Zealand and Europe, supporting renewed confidence in international bookings.
