Emirates is the world’s second-largest operator for long-haul flights. Due to the airline’s widebody-only fleet, it also ranks first globally for long-haul passengers, seats for sale, and available seat miles.

Let’s consider the Gulf giant’s entire passenger network. Between now and March 2027, the carrier’s jets — Airbus A380s, A350-900s, Boeing 777-200LRs, and 777-300ERs — will be seen in 143 airports globally from Dubai International Airport (DXB). This includes some places that are currently suspended, along with a brand-new route.

Emirates Will Begin Flying To Kinshasa

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According to the bastion of airline schedule changes, Aeroroutes, Emirates has scheduled its first-ever passenger service to Kinshasa. This is the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is Africa’s second-largest country by area. Kinshasa has the continent’s third most populous metro area, with up to 17 million people. Unsurprisingly, when GDP is considered, the city is well down the pecking order.

Aeroroutes states that Emirates will serve Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport (FIH) daily on the Boeing 777-300ER, although it is not clear yet exactly which configuration will be deployed. The 777-300ER is renowned for its huge freight capacity, which will be important for this route. The first departure is set to leave DXB on February 3, 2027. As flights are currently not bookable, changes may materialize. The carrier disclosed its plan to serve FIH last year.

Hang On: Why DXB To FIH?!

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In the 12 months to May 2026, booking data shows 76,000 round-trip passengers flew between DXB and FIH. They were local or point-to-point; they only flew between those airports. FIH was comfortably the largest unserved African market from DXB and, indeed, from the Middle East generally. Unsurprisingly, three-quarters of the traffic flew Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Ababa, although there was not a lot of choice.

The size of the local market is why flydubai, which is Emirates’ narrowbody-only sibling, previously flew to FIH. OAG data shows that it did so between April 2018 and February 2019. Flights used the 737-800 and stopped in Entebbe, Uganda, in both directions.

Emirates’ nonstop offering will be much more competitive. Unless things change, it won’t have to face Qatar Airways, which operated between Doha and FIH between June 2024 and October 2025.

The DRC is a Francophone nation and a former Belgian colony. As such, it is unsurprising that the top long-haul markets are Paris (120,000 passengers) and Brussels (109,000; Air Congo just began this route), distantly followed by London (21,000) and Geneva (19,000). Despite the backtracking, Emirates will capture some of this traffic. It’ll also carry passengers flying to/from the broader Middle East, including Beirut (19,000). However, traffic between India and China and FIH will also be important. The top markets are Guangzhou (27,000 passengers) and Mumbai (22,000).

Emirates To Sub-Saharan Africa

Credit: OAG

Sub-Saharan Africa excludes North Africa. With the addition of FIH, Emirates will now fly to 19 airports in this vast area, with up to 26 daily departures from DXB. When flydubai is included, the pair will now fly to 24 airports in sub-Saharan Africa.

The figure above shows how Emirates structures banks of departures to sub-Saharan Africa (green) and banks of arrivals (blue) for a week in mid-February 2027. FIH is currently not included. With a 9:35 AM departure from DXB and a 4:25 AM arrival, FIH will fit nicely into the peak periods. It would be surprising if it didn’t.

As always, this coordination is to drive connectivity. When all of Emirates’ sub-Saharan African markets are included, booking data shows that Northeast Asia (mainly China) was the top market, followed by Western Europe and South Asia. These are likely to be the leading targets for the new upcoming FIH route, too.