EMIRATES: suspends flights to Australia

Oh dear.

Emirates has cancelled all its flights between Dubai and Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – basically immediately.

You can check the screengrab below for the last flights. This suspension, due to ‘operational reasons’ is until further notice.

Those ‘operational reasons’ would appear to be the result of the near halving of Australian hotel quarantine capacity for international arrivals. That decision was prompted by the detection of the more infectious UK and South African strain of COVID-19 in recently arrived passengers.

Background

Emirates was flying daily between Dubai and Sydney and Melbourne and ran 5 flights a week to Brisbane. This announcement means Emirates services to Australia are slashed by 19 flights a week, reducing the opportunity Australians have for returning home from Europe, the UK and the Middle East.

Perth is the other Australian capital city that is serviced by Emirates, and it appears that the usual 3 flights a week have also been suspended with service resuming on 24 March – well at least on a Google Flights search this appears to be so.

Who flies to Australia?

Currently, the only airlines flying scheduled services to ports in Australia from Europe/UK are:

• Qatar Airways
• Etihad Airways
• Singapore Airlines
• Japan Airlines

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.

Initially, I like many Australians had little sympathy for those who did not head the call of our prime minister – Scotty from marketing – back in March 2020 to return home. I still remain a bit of a hard-hearted-Hannah towards those Australians trying to return now. However, I have heard enough tales of woe to think that each case needs to be assessed according to its merits.

Please also note those who want to return to Australia, that under no United Nations or any other definition is a flight returning to Australia a ‘human right’. Neither are cheap flights.

It’s a pandemic people, and you must bare the consequences of your decision to remain overseas!

OK, that is the extent of my current grumpiness.