Dubai-based Emirates is set to resume Airbus A380 flights to London Gatwick Airport from next week. The airline had said that flights to London's secondary airport would be operated by the Boeing 777 when they relaunch from December 10th, though current schedule data shows that Emirates is going slightly bigger for one of its most important routes.

The United Kingdom is a massive market for Dubai's leading airline, and with London acting as the country's capital, it will welcome the bulk of flights to the country. Exactly two years ago, the airline had 11 flights to the city, spread across three airports, and equating to over 5,200 seats each way.

London Gatwick is back

As far back as late September, Emirates revealed that it would be returning to London Gatwick from next Friday, December 10th. However, at the time of the announcement, the airline said,

"The world’s largest international airline will resume services to its second London gateway with a daily flight operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, across First, Business and Economy class."

Emirates, Boeing 777, Nigeria
Boeing 777ER Emirates Airlines. Aircraft landing at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino. Fiumicino (Italy), October 05th, 2021 (Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

It seems as though demand for the routes return is greater than the world's largest A380 operator anticipated, and as such, the airline is scheduling the giant of the skies on the routes to the southern London gateway.

According to schedule data from Cirium, Emirates will operate a daily service with the giant of the skies from December 10th. This will equate to 22 services across the month of December. The airline's schedule suggests that the flights will operate as follows,

  • EK 15 – Dubai International (DXB) 07:40 – London Gatwick (LGW) 11:40 – 08h00m
  • EK 16 – London Gatwick (LGW) 13:35 – Dubai International (DXB) 00:40 – 07h05m

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28 Airbus A380 destinations across the world

Emirates has Airbus A380 services planned to 28 destinations (excluding Dubai) during December, ranging from Amman (AMM) in Jordan to Zurich (ZRH) in Switzerland. With the addition of A380 services to London Gatwick, the giant of the skies will serve three airports across the UK,

  • LGW - London Gatwick (22 rotations - daily from December 10th)
  • LHR - London Heathrow (186 rotations - 6 times daily - Emirates' top A380 destination)
  • MAN - Manchester (62 rotations - twice daily)
Emirates, Airbus A380, Dubai Airshow
Eight Airbus A380 flights to Heathrow and Gatwick will accompany the daily 777 flight to Stansted. Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

The airline will now operate nine daily A380 flights to the UK, along with Boeing 777 flights to Birmingham (BHX), Glasgow (GLA), and Newcastle (NCL).

Interestingly, the United Kingdom isn't the country with the most A380 destinations in the Emirates network. While the airline operates these six UK routes, only half are served by the A380. Meanwhile, the airline's four German routes are all served by the giant of the skies. The airline will operate 187 A380 flights to Germany over the month. This will see 31 services to Hamburg (HAM), 47 services to each of Dusseldorf (DUS) and Munich (MUC), and finally another 62 services to Frankfurt (FRA).

Are you excited to see the Emirates Airbus A380 returning to London Gatwick? Let us know what you think and why in the comments below!