Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is to open Airbus A380 services to the German city of Dusseldorf as well as the Spanish capital Madrid.

The decision will take to 13 the number of European airports to which Emirates operates the double-deck type.

Emirates is already operating the A380 to Frankfurt and Munich, the hubs of German flag-carrier Lufthansa. The airline serves four cities in Germany, including Hamburg, but has been seeking access to others including Berlin and Stuttgart.

It will open a 519-seat A380 link from Dubai to Dusseldorf on 1 July, with the Madrid operation following on 1 August.

The change will give passengers “seamless connectivity” to several destinations on the airline’s route network via Dubai, says Emirates senior vice-president for commercial operations Hubert Frach.

No other carrier serves Dusseldorf or Madrid with A380s.

Emirates operates the A380 to 34 destinations. It opened services with the type to 10 cities last year, including Frankfurt and Barcelona.

Source: Cirium Dashboard