OREANDA-NEWS. Emirates has announced plans to start a daily service to Bologna, Italy, from November 3.

The capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna will be Emirates’ fourth Italian destination bringing Emirates’ weekly flights to Italy to 56.

Set to be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, the new flight will add 5,040 international seats per week to and from the city, Emirates said in a statement.

“The addition of a fourth Italian gateway is another new and exciting development for Emirates. We have been committed to Italy for over 23 years and in that time we have played an important role in increasing opportunities for business and tourism across the country,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

"As the industrial epicentre of Italy we expect to see strong demand from both the passenger and cargo side of our business,” he added.

With the new daily flight to Bologna, Emirates SkyCargo will offer up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per day, further supporting Italian exports of cosmetics, construction equipment and machinery, automotive spare parts and handicrafts. Inbound to Bologna Emirates SkyCargo is expected to carry leather goods, garments, footwear and perishables.

Emirates has been contributing to Italy’s connectivity since 1992 when it first launched flights to Rome. In the last 23 years Emirates has grown its presence in line with demand and today, measured on the basis of flights and purchases of Italian goods and services, the airline supports more than 10,000 jobs in Italy and contributes €747 million to the economy.

Emirates currently operates a triple daily flight to Rome and Milan and daily flight to Venice. Emirates also operates a daily flight to New York from Milan which will be operated by an A380 aircraft from June 1.