Emirates booking data has revealed that sun-seeking Brits are making up for not being able to get away during the pandemic by taking longer trips abroad.
According to Emirates, longer international trips (8-14 days) to Dubai have increased by 11%, and longer trips to the rest of the world are up 5%, compared to 2019.
Over 40% of bookings over the Christmas period (15 December to 15 January) are for trips longer than 15 days and over 20% are for 21 days or more.
The airline itself has resumed operations since the UK’s announcement of the new system for international travel in September.
The airline said in a statement that passenger numbers for several winter sun destinations have already reached 2019 levels.
Between 16th-31st October, passenger numbers increased by 69% compared to 3rd -16th September. Bookings for December breaks are above 2019 levels for holiday destinations like Dubai, the Maldives and Mauritius, as well as destinations like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
By end of December, Emirates will offer 84 weekly flights, making it easier for UK customers to access Emirates’ growing global network of over 120 destinations – close to 90% of Emirates’ pre-pandemic network.
The next gateway to launch will be Gatwick on 10th December, which will be served by the iconic A380.
This will restore Emirates’ UK operations to six gateways, alongside six daily flights from London Heathrow, two daily flights from Manchester, ten weekly flights from Birmingham, four weekly flights to Newcastle, and a daily service from Glasgow.
Richard Jewsbury, Emirates UK divisional Vice President said, “People are booking the holidays they wish they could have over the last 18 months and, in many cases, are going away for longer to make up for lost time on the beach. The pent-up demand we saw when travel restrictions first lifted has continued to gather pace and confidence is definitely growing as people look further ahead for holidays.”
Emirates’ flexible booking policies have been extended to 31 May 2022 and introduced contactless technology and digital verification capabilities.
For more information, please visit Emirates.com.
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