Emirates has long wanted to operate service to Germany’s capital,
Berlin. With the long-awaited opening of the city’s new Brandenburg airport
taking place in late 2020, it seems only natural that the Dubai-based airline
operate service to the German capital. And yet it doesn’t. So why is this?
According to RBB24, Emirates is eager to operate service to the new Berlin
Brandenburg Airport from its home in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
And it’s not just the airline that wants to make this happen. Indeed, German business associations
and chambers of industry and commerce have advocated for Emirates’ presence in Berlin.
Business and tourism promotion agencies in the two countries are also wanting this service.
Unfortunately, under current regulations, an additional Emirates destination in
Germany is not possible. That’s because of a longstanding bilateral air service agreement
between Germany and the United Arab Emirates that limits the airline to
serving a maximum of four airports in the country. Currently, the four German cities are Frankfurt,
Munich, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg. The carrier is reluctant to relocate one of its landing rights
and has been instead pushing for an additional permit.
While Emirates and other advocates for a Berlin service may be renewing their efforts due to
Brandenburg Airport’s opening, the airline has been wanting to fly to the city for years.
As early as 2009, Emirates had been eyeing service to Berlin Schönefeld.
Arabian Business reported in 2019 that the Mayor of Berlin was calling for the bilateral air
service agreement to be expanded, saying: “The government of Berlin is in
favor of direct flights to Dubai… “…Emirates would have to give up another
German market in order to fly to Berlin. As the overall demand is growing, this would of course
make no commercial sense.” – Michael Müller, Mayor of Berlin via Arabian Business (2019)
The previous Mayor of Berlin reportedly suspected the that the lack of progress was due to lobbying
of the German federal government by Lufthansa. These suspicions were raised a decade ago,
in an interview in 2011. On this topic, Lufthansa issued this statement at the time:
“If Emirates gave up one of [its four existing destinations], Berlin could immediately be
integrated into its flight schedule. That’s a question of company strategy. Air service
agreements are supposed to ensure an ambitious level of connectivity as well as an international
level playing field including a fair and balanced market access for all airlines involved.”
Going even further back to 2009, Emirates had issued a public statement on its website, stating
that its services to Berlin and Stuttgart would quote “not impact negatively on German carriers,
particularly Lufthansa.” adding “such operations would provide numerous benefits and opportunities
to all concerned German stakeholders.” Whether or not the existing agreement
remains in place because of Lufthansa lobbying can be debated. However, it’s quite clear that
a new Emirates service to Berlin would have a noticeable impact on the aviation landscape due
to the airline’s global reach and its ability to fly travelers from all over the world to Berlin
via a single stop in Dubai. Of course, Qatar Airways,
with its similar operating model to Emirates, might be impacted just as much as Lufthansa,
if the new route were to happen. We’d love to hear from you on this
topic. Do you think that the Germany-UAE bilateral agreement should be amended to
give Emirates additional German cities? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.