SINGAPORE, Sept 8 — Dubai-based airline Emirates is stopping its flights between Singapore and Melbourne, a route it has serviced since 1996, except for a three-year break during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The end date will be determined after receiving the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s (CCCS) assessment on capacity commitments, Singapore newspaper The Straits Times reported today.
Emirates will continue operating daily flights between Singapore and Dubai, and Melbourne and Dubai, while offering codeshare flights on the Singapore-Melbourne route through Qantas.
According to the newspaper, the airline will stop operating its own aircraft between Singapore and Australia but will still provide codeshare options to Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney.
The Singapore–Melbourne route is highly competitive with other carriers including Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Jetstar, and Scoot also serving this corridor.
In September, Emirates will account for about 11 per cent of the seats on the Singapore–Melbourne route, according to global travel data provider OAG Aviation.
The alliance between Emirates and Qantas, approved by the CCCS in 2013, required both airlines to increase seat capacity on various routes.
Emirates had previously stopped its Singapore-Brisbane flights in 2019, a decision related to similar capacity commitments and competitive pressures.
The airline’s decision reflects a broader strategy to optimize operational costs and focus on more profitable routes, The Straits Times reported.
