Emirates is beefing up its southern-Africa network ahead of year-end demand. The Dubai flag-carrier announced on 20 October that it will operate a second daily Boeing 777-300ER rotation between Dubai (DXB) and Durban (DUR) from 17–23 December and again from 2–8 January, adding 14 round-trip flights and more than 8,000 seats. Flight EK2535 will depart Dubai at 04:00 and arrive in Durban at 10:30, with the return EK2536 leaving at 12:15 and reaching DXB at 22:30. The existing EK775/776 service continues unchanged, maintaining early-evening departures from the UAE. The move follows a 22 per cent spike in forward bookings compared with the 2025 festive window, driven by pent-up VFR (visiting-friends-and-relatives) traffic and South African summer tourism. For UAE-based corporates, the boost offers more same-day connectivity to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Gqeberha via domestic partner Airlink, and opens additional north-south freighter capacity just as exporters rush perishable goods to Europe for the holiday season. Travellers also benefit from Emirates’ recently upgraded flexibility policy, which allows unlimited free date changes on tickets terminating in Dubai. Durban’s tourism board hailed the move, noting that last year’s December peak drew 1.2 million visitors and generated ZAR 2.5 billion (AED 597 million) in direct spend. Emirates meanwhile underscored that the temporary frequency increase dovetails with Dubai’s own inbound surge for New Year celebrations, creating a win-win corridor between the two sun-and-sand destinations. Seat inventory on the supplemental flights is now visible in global distribution systems; travel managers with South Africa-bound personnel should lock in fares early, as historical data show average prices rising 18–25 per cent once school breaks begin.
Source: Gulf News
