Emirates (EK, Dubai International) has delayed the debut of its first A350-900 to November 4, when it will start operating a daily flight to Edinburgh.

First reported by The National daily, Emirates is postponing the deployment of the new widebody because of delivery delays at Airbus. Edinburgh has replaced Bahrain International as the first destination for the A350, which was initially set for September 15.

“Once we begin receiving our A350s, we will expedite their entry into service as quickly as possible and will work hard to minimise the impact of the delays. Emirates remains committed to operate our A350s as soon as possible,” an Emirates spokesperson told ch-aviation.

For now, Emirates’ rollout of the A350-900 includes:

  • Flights EK23 on the Dubai-Edinburgh city pair from November 4;
  • Flights EK839/840 on the Dubai-Bahrain city pair from November 15;
  • Flights EK853/854 on the Dubai-Kuwait city pair from November 15;
  • Flights EK502/503 on the Dubai-Mumbai International city pair from January 1, 2025;
  • Flights EK538/539 on the Dubai-Ahmedabad city pair from January 1;
  • Bologna will receive the A350 from January 1;
  • Flights EK654/655 on the Dubai-Colombo International city pair from January 2;
  • Flights EK866/867 on the Dubai-Muscat city pair from March 1; and
  • Lyon St. Exupéry will receive the A350 from March 1.

Emirates has sixty-five A350-900s on order. Earlier this year, it said it expected to have ten by the end of March 2025. It has not yet been announced if these numbers have changed.