Emirates ramps up operations in Africa
Emirates announces the introduction of additional flights to Entebbe, Uganda; Addis Abba in Ethiopia; and Johannesburg, South Africa. Once the additional frequencies are activated, Emirates will provide 161 weekly flights between African destinations and Dubai.
Since the inaugural flight into Africa with Cairo as its first destination in 1986, Emirates has progressively grown its presence on the continent and now serves 20 passenger and cargo gateways, boosting Africa’s connectivity and air transport market development.
From 27 October, Emirates ramped up operations between Dubai and Uganda from 5 weekly flights to a daily service. Operated via a Boeing 777-300ER the additional flight will add 718 seats to and from Dubai-Entebbe every week, connecting to popular onwards destinations from Dubai such as Canada, the US, India and the UK, to name a few.
Ringing in the new year, Emirates will also increase frequency in Ethiopia, with a daily flight connecting Dubai and Addis Abba from 1 January 2025. Visitor numbers to Ethiopia continue to grow, guided by the vision to make Ethiopia one of the top five tourist destinations in Africa by 2025.
This will be followed by the 4th daily flight to Johannesburg, which, from 1 March 2025, will introduce a morning slot to and from South Africa’s largest and busiest international airport. The additional flight brings Emirates’ operations back to pre-pandemic levels, with 49 weekly flights into South Africa, one of the airline’s most in-demand destinations in Africa.
Expanding the network to serve more of Africa
With 17 countries in Africa and a further 63 countries and territories globally, Emirates offers near-unrivalled connectivity, further amplified by its extensive partnership network. In Africa, the airline’s footprint expands to over 210 regional points through 5 codeshare and 18 interline partners, providing access to more regional points via frictionless, one-ticket travel and simplified baggage throughput.
Earlier this month, Emirates made its much-awaited return to Lagos, connecting Nigeria’s economic hub to its global network with a direct, daily flight. Enhancing premium travel options, Emirates is one of only two airlines offering First Class in and out of Lagos.
Emirates SkyCargo will also benefit from the additional passenger flights, which complement its eight weekly scheduled freighters enabling the swift, efficient and reliable movement of goods from Africa to the world. Providing unmatched flexibility to meet demand, Emirates SkyCargo deploys its freighters between six African destinations, to boost the cargo capacity as required.
Likewise, to better manage capacity, Emirates SkyCargo moves general cargo from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Durban via trucks, to ensure goods move on customer’s timelines; the additional passenger flights will address these capacity constraints in each market, as the airline prepares for future growth, with the delivery of new freighters up until the end of 2026.
