Emirates to Axe Key Fifth-Freedom Route After 28 Years

The UAE’s flag carrier Emirates has confirmed that it will be cutting its route from Singapore to Melbourne.

The news was first given in a statement to The Straits Times, with the airline saying that no exact date for the route’s termination had been decided upon at the moment. However, the airline said that this news would come after it had assessed the impact that the cancellation would have in terms of capacity commitments agreed upon in a partnership with Qantas.

This route is a prime example of a fifth-freedom operation: a flight operated from and to two destinations different from an airline’s home base. This allows for an airline to operate to two destinations in one, and is often used for a route serving lower demand hubs, such as KLM connecting the Dutch capital with Bogota and Cartagena in Colombia.

Currently, six airlines in total operate between the East Asian hub and Australia’s second-largest city. These include Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Jetstar, Scoot, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines.

The route has been served since 1996, using the airline’s fleet of Boeing 777s. Emirates said that it would no longer fly between Singapore and Australia, but would instead keep its codeshare agreement with Qantas.

However, the airline was quick to point out that its nonstop flights to both Singapore and Melbourne from its Dubai hub will still be flying. These routes operate on a four times daily and twice-daily basis respectively.

OAG Aviation data cited by The Straits Times shows that Emirates was set to operate 11% of the seats sold in September.

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Sam Jakobi

Sam Jakobi is a young aviation journalist based in London, U.K. A lifelong Airbus fan, he has adored aviation for as long as he can remember. Sam writes articles and conducts interviews with members of the aviation community.

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