Emirates Secures Berlin Landing Slot After Decades Of Lobbying

(MENAFN- Mid-East Info) Emirates has secured a fifth landing slot in Germany, allowing the Dubai carrier to finally serve Berlin after decades of lobbying for access against stiff opposition from local champion Deutsche Lufthansa AG. Borderless Finance. AI-Native.

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The German government - without naming Emirates - said it has granted“a UAE airline” a fifth landing point with immediate effect. The statement by the Transport Minister Steffen Bilger confirms comments on Thursday by United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoud, who said the two sides were“finalizing the touches” to give Emirates the long-coveted slot.

The move will intensify competition on long-haul routes particularly to Asia, where Emirates and its Persian Gulf rivals have gained an edge over the years using their hubs in the Middle East as transit points. As a result, the likes of Lufthansa or Air France have seen their business dwindle, compounded by the fact they no longer fly through Russia - unlike Emirates - and have to take longer, fuel-burning routes.

Lufthansa said in a statement that giving Emirates the extra slot“will shift economic value creation and jobs to the Gulf and further exacerbate the distortion of competition.” The German airline, alongside competitors like British Airways and Air France, had recently expanded its network to Asia and parts of Africa as the fallout from war in Iran put Emirates and Qatar on the defensive.

That move raised the ire of Emirates President Tim Clark, who on his last public appearance in Berlin in June accused Lufthansa of extracting short-term benefits from the misfortunes created by the war, rather than putting a longterm focus on their products and services.

According to the agreement, the additional flights are capped at seven a week, and Emirates can't count on so-called fifth-freedom arrangements that would have given it access to destinations like New York via Berlin.

Emirates now flies to Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. Clark has long lobbied to gain the additional slot, saying the airline would support business and tourism in the capital and beyond. The carrier has regularly brought an Airbus SE A380 jumbo to the biennial ILA Berlin air show, drawing huge crowds.

Qatar Airways already flies from Berlin to Doha, and Eurowings and Condor now operate several flights from Berlin to Dubai. But the airport is generally under-utilized on long-distance connections and has lost traffic in recent years. Some short-haul airlines have also scaled back operations in Berlin, including Ryanair Holdings Plc, which has said levies are too expensive in Germany to sustain a profitable base in the capital.

The UAE minister was in Berlin as part of a delegation from the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf country announced on Thursday that it plans to invest €40 billion ($46.5 billion) in Europe's largest economy.

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