Dubai-based megacarrier Emirates has announced plans to operate a further six flights per week to London-Heathrow Airport (LHR), bringing the total number of weekly flights between the two hubs to a staggering 48 flights. All of the additional flights will be operated by the carrier’s fleet of Boeing 777-300ERs.
Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, will expand its London Heathrow (LHR) operations from October 26, 2025, which happens to be the start date of the IATA winter 2025/26 scheduling season. The additional six services have been strategically timed to connect overnight departures from Heathrow to Dubai (DXB) for convenient onward links to cities across Asia and Africa.
Currently operating six daily flights to Heathrow, all using A380s, Emirates will introduce the new frequencies with its fleet of 141 Boeing 777-300ERs configured in three classes and seating more than 350 passengers in each direction. All existing services continue to be operated by the airline’s flagship Airbus A380.
The new flights will operate daily, except on Fridays, throughout the winter season. According to the airline, the move “builds on strong growth in travel between Dubai (DXB) and London, ensuring passengers greater flexibility with departure times.”
Flight EK41 will depart Dubai at 13:40 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, arriving in London Heathrow (LHR) at 17:40. On Thursdays, EK41 will depart Dubai at 12:55, arriving in London at 16:55 local time.
The return, EK42, leaves London at 22:35 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, reaching Dubai at 09:35 the next day. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, EK42 departs at 21:20, arriving at 08:20 the next morning.
With the new set of flights being strategically timed to provide convenient connections to Asia and Africa, the carrier will be hoping to tap into the large numbers of connecting traffic between these regions, as well as the growing point-to-point traffic between the UK and Dubai. In particular, the new flights will offer short connection times in Dubai for onward flights to destinations such as Durban, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Jakarta.
According to the airline, inbound flights into London Heathrow will also provide better schedules for travellers from cities including Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lahore, Malé, and major Middle Eastern hubs like Bahrain, Dammam, and Riyadh.
Further UK expansion
The addition of further Heathrow flights over the winter peak period comes as the carrier carries out a period of broader expansion in the UK. By February 2026, the airline will operate a total of 146 weekly flights between Dubai and various airports across the country.
Apart from the Heathrow services as described above, this includes services to London Gatwick (LGW), London Stansted (STN), as well as regional gateways Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), Newcastle (NCL), Glasgow (GLA), and Edinburgh (EDI). The airline also serves Dublin in the Republic of Ireland with two daily Boeing 777-300ER flights.
The airline previously confirmed a fourth daily service to London Gatwick (LGW) starting on February 8, 2026, operated by the carrier’s new Airbus A350 widebodied jets. By the start of 2026, Emirates will offer an impressive 90 weekly flights to London’s three airports, with Stansted being served twice-daily by Boeing 777s.
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