Emirates is back to operating at pre-pandemic levels to Brisbane with the introduction of an additional daily service to the Queensland capital.

The announcement comes as the airline celebrates 20 years of serving Brisbane and as it continues to restore its operations in Australia.

Emirates currently serves Brisbane with a daily A380 flight, but from 1 June 2023, it will operate a second daily flight to and from the city with a Boeing 777-300ER. With the additional frequency, the airline will operate 49 weekly flights to Australia, supporting the revival of tourism and bolstering trade and business opportunities by providing travellers with even more access to and from Australia.

Flight EK 430 will take off from Dubai at 0230hrs and arrive in Brisbane at 2220hrs, with the return flight, EK 431, departing Brisbane at 0250hrs and arriving in Dubai at 1100hrs local time.

“Not only will this service cater to the demand of Australians looking to travel overseas, but also welcome more travellers and tourists from Dubai and across our global network to enjoy Queensland, Australia’s tourism mecca,” Emirates regional sales manager, Dean Cleaver, said.

The expansion was secured under the $200 million joint State Government and industry Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was created to boost Queensland’s tourism economy.

Emirates has been serving Australia for more than 25 years, transporting over 40 million passengers to and from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and other destinations via its Dubai hub since 1996.