Emirates to restart flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane

Emirates Airline has confirmed plans to restart passenger services to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, following a brief suspension.

Flights to Sydney will resume from January 25; to Melbourne from January 26; and to Brisbane from January 28.

Passenger flights between Dubai and Perth, as well as cargo operations to all Australian points, continue as scheduled.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers in the period where we had to temporarily suspend our services,", the airline said in a statement to ARN News.

"The pandemic has made international flying incredibly challenging, and the dynamic restrictions and requirements implemented by the different state authorities in Australia had added complexity and burden to our operations.

"This led us to temporarily suspend passenger services while we engaged with various stakeholders regarding crew protocols and other operational details. Following this engagement, we’ve made the decision to resume services with adjustments to our operations, so that we can continue serving our customers," it explained.

The airline said that all its crew (cabin crew and pilots) operating on Australian flights were already mandated to take a PCR test 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure from Dubai.

With the latest adjustments, these tests will be administered in their homes, and the crew will also observe self-quarantine in their homes from the moment of testing until their flight.

"Combined with the hotel quarantine and tests on arrival in Australia, this effectively means that our crew are in a “bubble” from 48 hours before their flight, until they return to Dubai.

"This is an added burden for our crew as individuals, for our rostering, and operating costs, and therefore this decision was made after careful review and consideration. We are grateful that our wonderful crew teams are very understanding and supportive, which has enabled us to quickly restart passenger services," the statement added.