Emirates launches Flights to Newcastle

Emirates Airline has launched flights to Newcastle in the North-East of England. The new Dubai-Newcastle route, the airline's 6th gateway into the UK and 22nd destination in Europe, is the first ever long haul scheduled flight out of Newcastle.

Keith Longstaff, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe said, "We are very pleased to launch our Newcastle-Dubai route and now passengers in this part of the country can benefit from Emirates' fast expanding international network. Travellers can also avoid unpopular London connections and no longer need to drive three hours to our nearest departure points at Glasgow or Manchester."

Mr Longstaff added, "Already, the route is receiving tremendous support and records have been broken with pre-launch sales.

Never before in the UK has Emirates sold out so quickly on the first two flights of a new service and thousands are already booked from Newcastle to far flung places throughout the Emirates network."

Ticket sales for September alone show Emirates' passengers out of Newcastle heading to no less than 26 different destinations through Dubai, including Sydney, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Auckland, Islamabad, Delhi and Johannesburg.

On the freight side, Emirates SkyCargo will offer 13 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction. Consignments including machinery and car parts produced by companies throughout the North-East are expected to feature amongst exports, with imports set to include consumer goods spanning electronics, clothes and perishables.

David Laws, Newcastle International Airport's Chief Operating Officer, said, "The arrival of Emirates to Newcastle International is, without question, the most significant new route development in the airport's 72 year history. This achievement is a major coup not just for the airport, but for North-East England as a whole. Dubai's importance as a major global hub, trading city and tourist destination continues to grow, and the Emirates service also provides crucial onward connections to dozens of major hub airports across the world."

Emirates flight EK035 departs Dubai International Airport each day at 0720 and arrives at Newcastle International Airport at 1210. EK036 will depart Newcastle daily at 1340, arriving into Dubai at 0005 the following day (all times local).

The service will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with 27 Business Class and 251 Economy Class seats. Emirates SkyCargo will offer 13 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction.

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