Emirates has resumed Dubai to Newcastle, in England's northeast, with the first flight since March 2020 in the air as this article is written. We look at this route and see that Newcastle is one of five UK airports currently served by Emirates.

Emirates has resumed Newcastle

October 15th marked the return of Emirates to Newcastle, with the 3,056 nautical mile airport pair now operating on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays in both directions. This is down from seven-weekly in 2019, but it is excellent that it has resumed.

The current schedule is as follows (all times are local). Intriguingly, Emirates has shifted the departure from UAE to the afternoon; Newcastle is in the carrier's second-largest bank of departures to Europe. Every other day since the route began, it took off in the morning during the carrier's largest departure bank.

• EK33, Dubai to Newcastle: 14:20-19:10
• EK34, Newcastle to Dubai: 21:10-07:25+1 (the next day)

The first service is operated by A6-EGF, a B777-300ER delivered in 2011, according to ch-aviation.com. It has 354 seats, with eight in first, 42 in business, and 304 in economy. As this article is written, it is approaching the Black Sea, with EK19, an A380 to Manchester, close behind.

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Newcastle began in 2007

A long-established route, Emirates inaugurated Newcastle in September 2007 and was initially operated by the A330-200. The B777-300ER took over from September 2012, replaced on occasion by the B777-200LR. Speaking of the relaunch, Nick Jones, CEO of Newcastle International Airport, said:

"Today marks a very important milestone in the recovery of the Airport and of international travel from the region. Emirates provides vital connectivity to Dubai and beyond for passengers traveling for business, leisure, or to visit friends and family."

Australia had the most passengers

In 2019, Emirates' Newcastle route carried 227,629 passengers to, from, and over Dubai, according to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority. When passenger volume is related to seats for sale, the route had an approximate seat load factor (SLF) of 94%. Don't forget that SLF is just one measure of performance; how it is achieved is crucial.

Emirates carried more passengers from Newcastle to Australia than any other country, booking data indicates. Thailand was second, followed by India, Singapore, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Philippines, New Zealand, China, and Bangladesh. On an airport pair basis, Bangkok was very much number one.

Newcastle is one of five UK airports served

Emirates' UK network now comprises Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Newcastle. Gatwick is bookable from December 10th, while Edinburgh and Stansted are not (yet?) bookable for any period.

Dubai to Edinburgh and Stansted launched in 2018, meaning they haven't had much time to develop. It's the same for other new routes, such as British Airways ending Pittsburgh and Charleston that began in 2019. When times are very hard, tough decisions must be made.

In the case of Edinburgh and Stansted, other relatively closeby airports – Glasgow and Heathrow – can be used for consolidation purposes during the pandemic to pool demand. However, it is hoped that Edinburgh and Stansted do restart in time.

Are you planning to fly Emirates from Newcastle or any other UK airport? Let us know in the comments.