Dubai-, United Arab Emirates (UAE), based global major airline Emirates has announced that it has restored operations on 96% of its global network, following the disruptions caused by the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Even during the height of hostilities (from March 1 to April 30), the carrier was able to carry 4.7-million passengers.

The actual number of flights operated by the airline was now back at 75% of the pre-war level. In numbers, Emirates was now operating more than 1 300 flights a week to 137 destinations, spread across 72 countries on all the inhabited continents.

South Africa was one of the countries to which the bulk of Emirates services had been restored. The three daily flights to Johannesburg and the four weekly flights to Durban were operating again. Only the Cape Town route was still being operated at a lower-than-normal frequency, with three weekly flights, instead of the normal ten weekly flights.

“Emirates is giving customers more reasons to travel with confidence with flexible rebooking, Dubai Connect stopover experiences and enhanced Skywards benefits,” assured the airline.

Flexible rebooking applied to passengers who had booked from April 2, and covered all cabin classes; it allowed passengers to make one date change, free of charge. Dubai Connect would give eligible passengers, facing a layover in Dubai lasting from six to 26 hours, complimentary four- to five-star hotel accommodation, including, if necessary, a UAE entry visa. This also applied to all cabin classes. Regarding Emirates’ Skywards loyalty programme, from May 8 to August 31 this year, members would benefit from more rapid access to its premium tiers. This would be delivered via reduced tier requirements and bonus tier miles, that could be accrued on both Emirates and flydubai flights.

The airline also highlighted that 28 of its aircraft were now fitted with Starlink connectivity. That meant that passengers on these aircraft had access to reliable and ultrafast internet connectivity throughout their flights.