International airline Emirates has announced its new A350 aircraft will make its first flight to Scotland almost two weeks earlier than planned.  

The arrival of its Airbus airplane has been moved forward to January 3, 12 days ahead of schedule to begin a daily service linking the two cities.  

The flight  - EK23 - will leave Dubai at 2.50pm and arrive in the Scottish capital at 7.05pm local time.  

The return flight, EK24, will depart from Edinburgh at 8.40pm and arrive in Dubai at 08.05am local time on the following day. 

The airline said on Tuesday: “The advancement of the scheduled service reinforces Emirates’ commitment to providing customers with enhanced travel experiences and greater comfort on board,”  

Emirates resumed flights to Edinburgh on November 5 for the first time since 2020, using a Boeing 777, which will be replaced by the much-anticipated A350. 

The airline also serves Glasgow with a daily Airbus A380 flight, offering customers 14 weekly flights to and from Scotland. Emirates serves eight destinations in the UK. 

The Dubai-based airline will introduce its A350 aircraft on routes to eight other destinations – Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kuwait, Bahrain, Colombo, Lyon, Muscat and Bologne – with more to follow, it said. 

Emirates took delivery of the A350-900 wide-body jet in Toulouse, France, following months of delays. It is the first new model to join the airline's fleet of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s since 2008.