{"id":1346,"date":"2026-10-19T13:28:01","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T13:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346"},"modified":"2026-10-19T13:28:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T13:28:01","slug":"home-for-the-holidays-emirates-to-scale-up-flights-to-durban-for-festive-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346","title":{"rendered":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emirates, the world\u2019s largest international airline, is adding 14 flights between Dubai and Durban across December 2026 and January 2027, giving customers more opportunities to travel during the busy festive season. Whether heading home to celebrate with family and friends, escaping the Northern Hemisphere\u2019s winter for South Africa\u2019s balmy summer, or making the most of the year-end break to explore somewhere new, the additional frequencies will offer more choice and connectivity during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.<\/p>\n

\n

Between 17 \u2013 23 December 2026 and 2 \u2013 8 January 2027, Emirates will operate a second daily flight between Dubai and Durban, using a three-class Boeing 777. Flight EK2535 will depart Dubai at 04:00hrs, landing in Durban at 10:30hrs; the return flight, EK2536 will take off from Durban at 12:15hrs and land in Dubai at 22:30hrs. EK775 and EK776, the existing daily service, will continue to operate as scheduled. On all other dates, Emirates will operate one daily flight.<\/p>\n

\n

The additional flights will also offer Durban residents more opportunities to explore the world over the festive season. Via Emirates\u2019 hub in Dubai, customers can connect to over 140 destinations on its global network, making it easier to plan holidays and discover new locations before ringing in 2027. The most popular December destinations with Durbanites include Dubai, Thailand, Indonesia, India, France and the UK, all of which benefit from seamless connections with the additional services.<\/p>\n

\n

With a full programme<\/a> of festivals and gigs, beachfront fireworks, cultural and heritage experiences, and exquisite dining options, Durban is at its best in summer. In fact, 1.2 million visitors travelled to the city across the festive period alone, last year. Emirates\u2019 additional flights will support the city\u2019s inbound tourism ambitions, creating more opportunities for international visitors to experiences Durban\u2019s unique and vibrant summer offering, particularly from destinations supported by the introduction of South Africa\u2019s Electronic Travel Authorisation such as India, China, Indonesia and Mexico. With convenient connections through Dubai from Emirates\u2019 global network, travellers from Europe and other Norther Hemisphere markets can also trade winter\u2019s colder days for Durban\u2019s sunshine, beaches and festive-season atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\n

Emirates has introduced a number of flexible booking policies to account for last minute changes to travel plans, such as unlimited free date changes across all cabins on tickets booked to Dubai, and one free date change to anywhere else on the network. Customers can use Hold My Fare to lock in the ticket price for 24 hours, at no extra fee, while they finalise plans. The airline is also offering significantly reduced refund fees.<\/p>\n

\n

For extra reassurance, travellers from South Africa and 26 other countries can add Emirates’ Comprehensive Travel Cover when booking on emirates.com<\/a> or later through Manage Your Booking. The insurance includes unlimited worldwide medical expenses, emergency evacuation, and cover for trip cancellation and baggage delay or loss. It also provides conflict cover, with medical expenses reimbursed up to US$25,000 and a free trip extension of up to 30 days, and it isn’t restricted by government travel advice.<\/p>\n

\n

Tickets are available now on emirates.com<\/a> or the Emirates app, via travel agents or through online travel agents.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emirates, the world\u2019s largest international airline, is adding 14 flights between Dubai and Durban across<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nHome for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emirates, the world\u2019s largest international airline, is adding 14 flights between Dubai and Durban across\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stokvel Talk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26\"},\"headline\":\"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346\"},\"wordCount\":527,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/image002-16-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346\",\"name\":\"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/image002-16-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/image002-16-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/image002-16-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?p=1346#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\",\"name\":\"Stokvel Talk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Stokvel Talk\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg\",\"width\":2559,\"height\":735,\"caption\":\"Stokvel Talk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stokveltalk.co.za\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk","og_description":"Emirates, the world\u2019s largest international airline, is adding 14 flights between Dubai and Durban across","og_url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346","og_site_name":"Stokvel Talk","article_published_time":"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1920,"url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/person\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26"},"headline":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season","datePublished":"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346"},"wordCount":527,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Lifestyle"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346","name":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season - Stokvel Talk","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-19T13:28:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image002-16-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1920},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?p=1346#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Home for the Holidays: Emirates to scale up flights to Durban for festive season"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#website","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/","name":"Stokvel Talk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#organization","name":"Stokvel Talk","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/cropped-stokvel_talk_news_cover-1-scaled-1.jpg","width":2559,"height":735,"caption":"Stokvel Talk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/#\/schema\/person\/8cab1ed537bfb6dd99c4d3e0d0c10c26","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b3df1cfe648a629fc75c7460c1413a08ddf705d9dfae38513251afb0b80c434c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za"],"url":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1346"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1348,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1346\/revisions\/1348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stokveltalk.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}