While a start date for international travel remains elusive, Emirates has announced it will increase the frequency of its return flights to Auckland.
Starting March 28, the airline will offer customers an additional two services per week, taking the total to six weekly flights to Auckland from Dubai.
In a statement, the airline said the decision was as a result of signs of a gradual return to travel confidence and demand, and would offer more flexibility to customers.
In the new schedule, flights from Auckland to Dubai will depart daily on weekdays, and one on a Saturday.
Flights will depart Dubai for Auckland every day except Sunday local time.
All flights to Auckland will be operated using Boeing 777-300 aircraft.
Dubai has re-opened for international business and leisure visitors so is fully accessible as a destination or a stopover.
Emirates has restarted operations to more than 90 destinations within its global network.
With a lack of certainty over long-term travel planning, Emirates' booking policies offer customers the flexibility to change their travel dates or extend their ticket validity for two years.
At its pre-COVID peak, Emirates operated almost as many flights to New Zealand every day as it does now per-week. There were daily flights to and from Dubai via Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, as well as a non-stop flight from Dubai, one of the world’s longest non-stop flights, all of which were operated by Airbus A380 aircraft.
The airline was also operating daily flights in and out of Christchurch to Dubai via Sydney.
