Long-haul operator Emirates is on track to restore 70 percent of its capacity before the end of the year as demand for travel continues to grow, the airline said on Monday. 

The Dubai-based carrier is preparing to deploy its A380 aircraft to an expanded list of destinations starting next month.  

By the end of November, the number of cities that the double decker will serve will increase to 27, representing a more than 65 percent increase from the current 16 destinations, Emirates said in a statement. 

Among the routes that will see the return of A380 services are popular destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Madrid, Milan, Sao Paulo and Zurich. The superjumbo is also set to be reinstated on the Riyadh route, subject to government approvals. 

Surge in travel demand 

Emirates noted that there has been a “surge in customer demand to Dubai” and other destinations that don’t require quarantine for specific nationalities and vaccinated travellers. 

Since Dubai reopened its borders to international travel in July 2020, more than 4 million overnight leisure and business visitors have arrived in the emirate. 

“With Expo 2020 Dubai just ten days away, the city is preparing to welcome visitors for the world’s largest gathering and highly-anticipated event,” Emirates said. 

The airline’s total revenue for the financial year ended March 31, 2021 declined 66 percent to 30.9 billion dirhams ($8.4 billion) due to the pandemic-related restrictions on air travel. Total loss amounted to 20.3 billion dirhams after the previous year’s 1.1 billion dirhams profit. 

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) 

Cleofe.maceda@refinitiv.com 

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