Emirates to offer daily Dublin-Dubai flights
The move follows a seven-year long courtship between the airline and Dublin airport.
Ireland will be Emirates’s 29th route in Europe and it will operate a daily service to Dubai from Dublin with an Airbus A330-200 offering first, business and economy class.
Tourism Ireland said the route will provide a welcome boost for leisure and business tourism from a number of markets such as the Middle East.
Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said: “We have agreed a co-operative programme of promotional activity with Emirates, which we will be rolling out later this year.
“As an island destination, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.”
Declan Collier, the Dublin Airport Authority chief executive, said Emirates had looked at Dublin previously and that the additional long-haul capacity played a “key role” in convincing them to invest.
“We have been in talks with Emirates for several years about a possible Dublin-Dubai service and our perseverance has paid off,” he said.
“Connectivity is essential for business and for tourism and this new service to Dubai, and the onward connections that it will provide will be very beneficial for the Irish economy.”
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the chairman and chief executive of Emirates said: “We see strong potential in Ireland through its industry, technology, tourism and the huge number of Irish nationals living overseas.”
