Linking several cities around the world, offering passengers a chance to fly on Emirates aircraft without having to transit in Dubai.

Fifth freedom routes are flights between two countries other than the airline’s home nation, as long as the originating or eventual terminating airport is at home. In most cases, every Emirates flight begins or ends at its hub in Dubai. However, a fifth freedom route is outside of this, and there are quite a few fascinating routes to explore.


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Oceania and Southeast Asia

  • Sydney-Christchurch: This service connects Australia’s largest city with the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island. This flight is operated using an Airbus A380 and is just over three hours long.
  • Melbourne-Singapore: Operated by a Boeing 777, the service is roughly seven and a half hours long and connects Australia’s second-largest city with the bustling southeast Asian financial hub of Singapore.
  • Bangkok-Hong Kong: Interestingly, this is one of the few routes that operate a 2-class configuration Airbus A380. This means that there is no first-class onboard. This flight is three hours long in duration.

An Emirates Airbus A380 taxiing at sunset.

Photo: Emirates

Transatlantic

  • Athens-Newark: This is one of Emirates’ longest fifth freedom flights at 10 hours and 45 minutes when heading west. The flight uses a Boeing 777 and is an overnight journey going from Newark to Athens. This is a key route for Greek flag carrier Aegean Airlines, which has no long-haul flight of its own and codeshares on the route.
  • Milan-New York: Connecting one of the world’s fashion capitals to the largest city in the United States, this route carries a significant amount of cargo (presumably iconic fashion) between the two cities. Flying from John F Kennedy Airport to Milan Malpensa is an overnight service that lasts about nine hours. The route has carried over 1.8 million passengers since its launch a decade ago.

An Emirates Airbus A380 taxiing at New York JFK airport.

Photo: Emirates

Africa

  • Accra-Abidjan: This extremely short flight between Ghana’s capital and the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) lasts only one hour, making it one of Emirates’ shortest flights.
  • Harare-Lusaka: Essentially just as short as Accra-Abidjan, this service connects the capital cities of Zimbabwe and Zambia with a Boeing 777.
  • Conakry-Dakar: This 90-minute long flight is a rare triangle route as it only offers service going from Conakry to Dakar but not the other way around. Connecting the capital of Guinea to the capital of Senegal, this service uses a Boeing 777.

Latin America

  • Barcelona-Mexico City: Using a Boeing 777, this is the longest Emirates fifth freedom flight at just over 12 and a half hours (going from BCN to MEX). The reason behind this link is not only the cargo and passenger capacity between Catalonia and Mexico, but also the fact Emirates cannot fly directly to the Mexican capital due to the airport’s high altitude, which reduces takeoff performance.
  • Rio de Janeiro-Buenos Aires: This three-and-a-half-hour journey uses a Boeing 777 widebody. The Emirates flight from Dubai lands in Rio de Janeiro in the afternoon and proceeds to Buenos Aires after a 1 hour and 45-minute stopover. The return flight arrives in Rio de Janeiro at 01:10 the next day, departing for Dubai at three in the morning.

An Emirates Boeing 777ER flying above the sea.

Island hopping goals

The final two routes below don’t fit as nicely into the other categories above, with one being in the Mediterranean and the other operating within South Asia.

  • Larnaca-Malta: This Mediterranean flight connects the island nation of Cyprus to the island nation of Malta. It uses a Boeing 777 and is about two and a half hours long.
  • Malé-Colombo: This 90-minute flight uses a Boeing 777 and connects two prevalent tourist and holiday destinations.

These routes are a great way for travelers to experience Emirates’ high-quality service without transferring through Dubai International Airport. It even gives passengers an opportunity to fly on the A380, where they would otherwise not have the chance.

Have you flown any of the above services? If so, let us know in the comments if you liked them!

  • Emirates, Airbus A380, Penultimate
    Emirates has been unable to fly to Nigeria, so local travelers have found other ways of getting to the UAE. Photo: Vincenzo Pace/Alvin Man – Simple Flying

    Emirates

    IATA/ICAO Code:
    EK/UAE

    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier

    Hub(s):
    Dubai International Airport

    Year Founded:
    1985

    CEO:
    Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum

    Country:
    United Arab Emirates

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