After 3 years, Emirates Airbus A380 will return to Birmingham

In the coming summer, the double-decker will return to Birmingham. Emirates will continue to fly its A380 to Birmingham, according to the latest schedule filing and the booking engine. In July, two-class, 615-seat A380s will operate once daily to Birmingham, supplemented by a 777-300ER twice daily. The last time the A380 operated regular Birmingham flights was three years and four months ago.

Birmingham via the A380

As of December 29th and subject to change, Emirates will deploy the A380 from Dubai to Birmingham on July 1st, in time for the peak summer season. This 615-seater will depart Dubai on EK39 during the carrier’s largest departure bank for Europe. As it returns after midnight, it’s the largest European arrival bank. Qatar Airways has not returned to Birmingham, and there is no indication when it will return. Its absence is evidently beneficial to Emirates.

22 years in Birmingham

On December 18th, 2000, Emirates began flying to Birmingham twice per day. It used the A330-200 first, then the 777-200ER.

Cirium data shows the 777-300ER first flew the 3,486-mile (5,610km) route in 2006, when Birmingham was served by the A330, 777-200ER, and 777-300ER. In 2010, Dubai-Birmingham became three times daily, with each flight operated by a 777-300ER.

In 2016, the A380 was introduced

A380 service was launched in March 2016 with 1 A380 daily and 2 777-300ER daily. The route became 2 A380 daily and all A380 in late 2017. Birmingham’s frequency was reduced from 3x daily to 2x daily due to the double-decker’s higher capacity, which was maintained until the A380 was removed and flights were postponed from March 2020.

According to the UK CAA, Dubai-Birmingham carried 5,812 roundtrip passengers in September 2020, compared with 62,240 in September 2019. Birmingham resumed double-daily service in summer 2022, also by the 777.

Passengers’ destinations in Birmingham

According to the UK CAA, Emirates carried 702,283 Birmingham passengers in 2019, compared to 757,540 seats for sale.

About a third of Birmingham passengers (around 230,000) traveled point-to-point; they only traveled between Birmingham and Dubai. About two-thirds of passengers (467,000) transited Dubai. Few thousand passengers were connected in Birmingham or bridged the two airports, mainly between Birmingham and Belfast.

About 45 out of 100 Birmingham passengers were connected to/from South Asia in Dubai. Southeast Asia was the next largest market, followed by Australasia, North Asia, and Eastern Africa. At the country level, Birmingham-India was the most popular route, followed by Pakistan, Australia, Thailand, China, the Maldives, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mauritius.

Emirates passengers traveled more between Birmingham and Delhi than anywhere else, followed by Bangkok, Islamabad, Mumbai, Male, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mauritius, Brisbane, and Colombo.