Breaking news story, it seems there is a rumor that Emirates might just be about to relaunch a fifth freedom route from Hamburg to New York!

This is great news as Hamburg currently does not have a direct non-stop route to the big apple.

COMEBACK? In a meeting with Hamburg's Mayor, @emirates' Sir Tim Clark said they intend to launch flights from @HamburgAirport to New York again, a route EK previously served for some time with 777-300ER. Clark says this route would be profitable. @SpaethFlies @HofmannAviation pic.twitter.com/NP1mogjOfn

— Aeronews (@AeronewsRO) January 27, 2019

The rumor comes from the office of the mayor of Hamburg, who apparently has been in talks with Sir Tim Clark, the president of Emirates.

Emirates
The new route will operate as a fifth freedom route between Dubai and New York (Most likely JFK).

The city, which is Germany's 2nd largest with 1.8 million people, has been rather excluded from international routing to America, with flights connecting through Frankfurt or Berlin instead.

The route will be flown on an Emirates 777-300ER.

We want to stress that this is a rumor at this stage, but if it is true, this is a win for those wanting to visit the north city. But it is not a win for others...

Emirates might have to prepare for the backlash

In a move that is set to ruffle feathers of US Senators (including @TedCruz): Emirates is planning on relaunching nonstop flights between Hamburg, Germany–New York• EK have fifth freedom rights between Germany and U.S.• The move will prompt backlash from both Lufthansa & US pic.twitter.com/WSYTZclxug

— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) January 27, 2019

The middle eastern carriers have actually made an agreement with the US government to not launch any new fifth freedom routes to the country, in a bid to protect domestic airlines. Whilst Qatar has been doing some sneaky roundabout fifth freedom routes with launching Air Italy routes to the US (Qatar owns 49% of Air Italy), this move by Emirates would be a direct confrontation with the previous agreement.

Plus, the national carrier of Germany, Lufthansa, will not be happy. This is their territory and to have a foreign airline offer a route to New York from the 2nd biggest city is a slap in the face.

Emirates has been quick reply with this statement when contacted by Simple Flying:

“We can confirm that during a recent visit to Emirates’ Head Office in Dubai, First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and his delegation asked Emirates to seriously consider restarting Dubai-Hamburg-New York services. We have taken the delegation’s comments on board, and are happy to be asked in the first instance, as this speaks to the value that Emirates can bring to communities and economies.” - Emirates spokesperson

Hamburg
Hamburg is also the home of Miniature Wonderland, home of the world's biggest model airport. And yes, the planes do taxi and take off.

What do you think? Will you fly on this new route to New York?