Emirates announced the resumption of flights between Dubai and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, starting June 8,2018. The resumption of services on the route will allow customers two destination options when travelling Emirates to Istanbul.
The flight will be operated five times a week by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three class cabin configuration, with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. Together with Emirates’ other service to Istanbul, the airline will offer 16 flights and over 6500 seats per week, catering to both tourism and business traffic.
The aircraft allows for an increase in cargo capacity to Istanbul, with a weekly total of 100 tonnes and makes Emirates the only airline operating a scheduled service with a wide-body aircraft at Sabiha Gokcen Airport.
Emirates flight EK119 will depart Dubai at 10am and arrive in Istanbul at 1.45pm. The return flight EK120 will leave Istanbul at 3.35pm, and arrive in Dubai at 9pm. The new timing allows customers from Istanbul to seamlessly connect to Emirates’ flights at Dubai International Airport to popular destinations like Bangkok, Shanghai, Seoul, and cities across Australia. The flight timing also means travellers from key inbound markets such as China, Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait can enjoy shorter connection times in Dubai when continuing onwards to Istanbul.
“We’ve seen continued growth in travel demand to and from Istanbul over the past year and are therefore pleased to be able to offer passengers travelling with Emirates the choice of two destinations in the city. With flights to these two points in Istanbul, along with our extended partnership with flydubai, we’re able to offer customers more scheduled flight options and greater connectivity to Dubai and beyond,” said Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, West.
Travellers can access Istanbul City with ease from Sabiha Gocken, and from surrounding provinces to the airport. The development of the Osman Gazi Bridge offers residents from north and west provinces a commute time of under an hour to Sabiha Gocken Airport, and those looking to travel to and from Istanbul’s European side can use the scheduled bus service between the Sabiha Gokcen and Taksim Square, an approximate 45 minutes journey.