Emirates has announced that it will be upgrading its EK39/40 service between Dubai and Birmingham to an Airbus A380 from March 27th, 2016. 

This will be the first time the iconic and much loved A380 will fly from the region, and comes as Emirates celebrates its 15th anniversary at Birmingham Airport.

Emirates will be replacing the current Boeing 777 to a two-class Airbus A380 on the lunchtime service into Birmingham, carrying 557 passengers in Economy Class and 58 in Business Class.

Birmingham will be the fifth route operating the new two-class A380 since it was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow in November 2015 by Emirates.

The upgrade will increase daily capacity to and from the region by 15 per cent, and means Emirates will now offer 77 A380 flights into the UK each week, more than any other country on the Emirates network.

Emirates first launched its route to Birmingham Airport in December 2000 as a daily service to Dubai, operated by a 278-seat Airbus A330.

As passenger numbers have risen, Emirates has added more aircraft to the route, including a third daily service introduced this year.

In the last 15 years, Emirates has carried over five million passengers between Dubai and Birmingham, with over 500,000 travelling in 2015 so far.

Laurie Berryman, Emirates vice president, UK, said: “In 15 years of operating at Birmingham, Emirates has experienced exceptional levels of growth driven by an increase in demand from the Midlands.

“The A380 is hugely popular amongst our passengers as it provides a unique level of service that has become synonymous with the Emirates brand.

“We are very excited to be the first airline to introduce the iconic A380 into the region and look forward to more of our customers enjoying the experience of flying on the world’s largest passenger aircraft.

“The launch of the new service, combined with our ongoing investment into the region, represents the huge significance we place on Birmingham and its role as a gateway to Dubai and across the globe.

“As we move into 2016, we look forward to another 15 successful years in the Midlands.”