Emirates renews long-standing bid for Berlin flights

Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, has renewed its long-standing interest in serving Berlin which would require an expanded air service agreement between the UAE and Germany. The airline's president Tim Clark and mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey met on Wednesday at the company's headquarters in Dubai to discuss “Berlin’s potential for more international long-haul connectivity”, Emirates said in a statement on Thursday. Starting Berlin flights would require Germany to approve more flights from Emirates. The Dubai-based long-haul giant is seeking to expand beyond the four German cities of Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Dusseldorf that it is currently able to serve. Under an existing bilateral agreement signed in 1994, adding Berlin would mean dropping operations to one of these four destinations. For more than 20 years, Emirates has publicly expressed interest in adding daily Berlin flights to its network and expanding operations in Germany.<br/>