Emirates’ Airbus A380 Touches Down in Christchurch

Emirates’ flagship Airbus A380 made a landmark touchdown at Christchurch Airport today, marking the resumption of its daily service from Dubai to Christchurch via Sydney after more than three years.

The special service was greeted by a crowd of spectators at the Christchurch Airport boundary, who watched as the iconic aircraft taxied through a ceremonial water canon salute, before parking in view of trade, media, and VIP guests at the international terminal.

Flight EK412 departed Dubai at 10:15, stopping briefly in Sydney before arriving in Christchurch at 13:55 hours the next day. All times are local.

The resumption of Dubai-Christchurch route headlines a planned ramping up of seating capacity across Emirates’ global network, after boosting operations 31% (total ASKMs) since the beginning of its financial year. This operational boost included the re-introduction of Emirates’ nonstop A380 route from Auckland to Dubai in December of last year.

Both North and South Island customers will now have direct access to daily Emirates A380 services, providing greater levels of flexibility and choice when making travel plans and providing seamless connectivity and reduced transit time when travelling to other destinations across the airline’s global network, including destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

Travellers looking to venture beyond the airline’s gateways will also have more connection opportunities to 55 cities across Australia and New Zealand through Emirates’ long-standing partnership with Qantas.

Restart of Christchurch via Sydney 

The A380 flight operates as EK 412 and EK 413. Flight EK 412 departs Dubai at 1015hrs, arriving Sydney at 0700hrs. The flight will leave Sydney at 0845hrs, arriving in Christchurch at 1355hrs. EK 413 will then depart Christchurch at 1820hrs, arriving in Sydney at 1940hrs. The final leg of EK 413 will depart to Dubai at 2145hrs, arriving at 0515hrs local time.

Customers in Christchurch will not only be able to enjoy the airline’s flagship aircraft, but will also experience the debut of the highly sought-after Premium Economy cabin and latest products across every class of travel.  

Emirates has been flying to New Zealand for 20 years, a sign of its ongoing commitment to the market. Throughout the pandemic, Emirates continued to serve the country, both through connecting New Zealand and the world with daily flights, as well as its SkyCargo services bringing essential goods in and out of the nation. 

The Emirates A380 experience is highly sought after by travellers. Customers travelling to and from Christchurch can look forward to enjoying its spacious and comfortable cabins, signature products that offer travellers the best experiences in the sky like the Onboard Lounge, First Class suites, Shower Spa and an award-winning inflight entertainment system that includes more than 5,000 channels of on-demand entertainment. 

Currently, Emirates deploys Airbus A380 to almost 40 global destinations with more routes to be announced in the near future.