Emirates today announced it will launch a daily service between Dubai and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, on 15 December 2016, serving the South Florida area, including Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach. This will be Emirates’ 11th passenger route in the United States. 

The airline will operate a GE-powered US-built Boeing 777-200LR aircraft in a three-class configuration on the route, offering 8 First Class suites, 42 Business Class lie-flat beds and 216 Economy Class seats for travellers, and up to 15 tonnes of bellyhold cargo for shippers.

“Fort Lauderdale and Miami are two of America’s most exciting destinations for leisure and business travel,” said Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline. “Broward County and Dade County combined to host more than 25 million visitors last year, mainly from the United States and Latin America."

He added: “We anticipate our service will contribute to the economy of South Florida by bringing new travellers to the area from across our route network, at the same time offering greater competitive choice for consumers and new one-stop passenger and air cargo connectivity for the region to the global destinations that we serve. We launched our non-stop Dubai-Orlando service roughly a year ago and its strong performance encouraged us to select Fort Lauderdale as our 11th US destination.”

“Broward County is honored that Emirates airline has selected FLL as their gateway to our vibrant and exciting destination,” said Marty Kiar, Broward County Mayor. “This non-stop service will allow world travellers to experience our sun-drenched beaches to the majestic beauty of the Everglades and all the sensational attractions of a cosmopolitan area. Additionally, our residents can now explore the Middle East and the other 150 plus cities served by this world class airline.”

"Amid seemingly endless airline consolidation and diminishing value for travellers, this new service from Emirates is a welcome development," said US Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. "When international airlines open new routes to US airports, providing supply where there is previously unmet demand, both flyers and local economies benefit enormously from higher customer service standards and the good, non-exportable jobs fueled by increased travel. We hope to see more of this type of service expansion, which provides a much-needed infusion of connectivity and healthy competition into our aviation market."

Emirates’ daily flight EK213 will depart Dubai (DXB) at 3:00 a.m. local time and arrive in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) at 10:25 a.m. The return flight EK214 will depart FLL at 8:20 p.m. arriving in Dubai at 7:40 p.m. the following day, with a flying time of 14 hours and 20 minutes.

Explore South Florida, the Caribbean and more with Emirates

Passengers wishing to travel beyond the Fort Lauderdale-Miami area to onward destinations in the US, Caribbean and Latin America can take advantage of Emirates’ codeshare partnership with JetBlue Airways (B6) that offers connection options to over 26 destinations in the US and 19 destinations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, including the Bahamas, Cancun and Havana.

Visitors to the Sunshine State will also benefit from having two Emirates gateways in relative close proximity to each other, providing more options for travellers to make the most of their journey to Florida. For example, travellers to Fort Lauderdale can see several destinations in South Florida for either leisure or business, visit local attractions and towns just a few hours north in Orange County, then fly back to Dubai direct from Orlando International Airport (MCO) or onwards on an Emirates connecting flight. Providing this increased flexibility to business and leisure travellers, combined with the ease and convenience of flying into and out of FLL and MCO, is expected to add significant visitor numbers to the State of Florida.

New and quick connections to South Florida and beyond

Passengers from the Middle East, GCC, Africa, South Asian subcontinent, and the Far East can enjoy quick and convenient connections in Dubai before they travel onwards to Fort Lauderdale.  In particular, passengers from destinations such as Beirut, Doha, Riyadh, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Cebu, Singapore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, as well as Colombo and Karachi will experience connection times of less than 4 hours while in Dubai.

New connections from South Florida to the Middle East, Africa, South Asian subcontinent and Far East

Whether returning home or embarking on a new journey, passengers travelling from Fort Lauderdale will experience new and shorter connection times in Dubai. For example, passengers travelling from Fort Lauderdale to Johannesburg will experience the best roundtrip connectivity in the industry with quick connection times in Dubai. Travellers from Fort Lauderdale heading to Bangkok, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Dammam, Doha, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Islamabad, and Lahore will also enjoy fast connection times in Dubai.

Destination information

Fort Lauderdale is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States thanks to its abundant sunshine and temperate weather. Its pristine beaches and championship golf courses attract leisure travellers year round, and are home to millions of “snowbirds” – US residents from cold-weather states who own second homes in the area. Fort Lauderdale is also a popular destination for the cruise industry. Broward County's Port Everglades, one of the top 3 busiest cruise ports in the world, welcomes more than 4 million annual visitors.

Miami is one of America’s most vibrant cultural destinations and one of the Western Hemisphere’s financial capitals. Just a 30 min drive to Fort Lauderdale, Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the US. Miami’s metropolitan area is the eighth-largest in the US with a population of 5.5 million people. Miami is nicknamed the “Capital of Latin America” thanks to its preponderance of Latin American expatriates and first-generation American Latinos. Hispanics and Latinos comprise more than 70 percent of the city’s population, and have created a cultural fabric that is uniquely Miami. The Port of Miami is the busiest cruise port in terms of both passenger traffic and cruise lines. Miami is one of America’s cultural meccas, famous for its proprietary take on nightlife, art, music, architecture and cuisine.