As from February 1, Emirates Airlines from Dubai will fly to Schiphol twice a day with the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the Airbus A380. Dutch State Secretary of Infrastructure and the Environment Dijksma announced that to parliament two days ago.
Emirates began in 2010 with daily flights to Schiphol Airport with a Boeing 777. Two years later, the company was the first airline to come to the airport with an Airbus A380.
In 2013 there was a second daily flight, but with the smaller Boeing 777. Now Emirates could be allowed to fly a second A380 between Dubai and Amsterdam.
The arrival of this second A380 is not obvious. Many companies and critics believe that Emirates receives unfair state aid in Dubai. The Lower House also wanted to know from the State Secretary whether this authorisation could be harmful for KLM.
But according to Dijksma the move represents only a limited capacity increase and there are “no significant effects on the network quality of Schiphol“. Dijksma therefore fears no ill effects, for example, for KLM and says he will keep an eye on further developments.
Emirates now has over seventy A380s and that number will increase in the coming years to 150. There are 517 seats and for the passengers of business and first class, there is a bar at their disposal ; in the front of the aircraft there are two showers, which only the fourteen first-class passengers may use.
Emirates also has an A380 for 615 passengers, with no first class and no shower. Whether this aircraft will also fly to Amsterdam is not known.
