That didn’t take long. Despite only starting in October 2023, Air Canada has pulled all flights from Vancouver to Dubai, which is the world’s third-busiest airport for long-haul activity. First identified by Aeroroutes, the cut has been confirmed by reference to the carrier’s website and other booking engines. Air Canada has been contacted for comment.
Air Canada served the route to feed Emirates. But given very limited traffic rights, it is currently unclear what will happen to Vancouver. Unless Emirates’ Montreal route ends, or it reduces Toronto flights, it’ll not be able to fly to Vancouver itself. What happens to Air Canada’s freed-up traffic rights is also unclear. Will it expand Toronto-Dubai service? If it did, Emirates could reduce flights to Canada’s most populous city, enabling it to fly to Vancouver. Time will tell.
Air Canada Removes Flights From Vancouver To Dubai
The Canadian flag carrier began the long route to Dubai, which is by far the Middle East’s busiest airport, in October 2023. It was the first time the market had ever been served, and it was Vancouver’s first and only Middle Eastern passenger service. For obvious reasons, it always operated during the winter.
The final flight left British Columbia on March 27, 2025. Service was scheduled to run from November 22 to March 26, 2026. All flights were due to be aboard Air Canada’s most popular widebody: the three-class, 298-seat Boeing 787-9. This variant has 30 fully flat beds in business (1-2-1), 21 in premium economy (2-3-2; 38″ pitch), and 247 in economy (3-3-3; 31″).
Timed at 15h 50m back to Canada, it was to be the Star Alliance member’s fourth-longest route from Vancouver during the upcoming winter. Only Singapore (up to 16h 50m), Bangkok (up to 16h 35m), and Sydney (up to 15h 55m) would have been longer. It would have been the carrier’s sixth-longest nonstop flight overall, with Delhi-Toronto (up to 17h 05m) and Delhi-Montreal (up to 16h 30m) also taking longer.
The Route Existed To Feed Emirates
Vancouver to Dubai was served due to the strategic partnership between Air Canada and Emirates. Launched in 2022, this included a codeshare agreement, which enabled passengers to book flights between both airlines’ networks on a single ticket. Other benefits included reciprocal points earning and redemption opportunities, and reciprocal lounge access.
Significantly, it also meant more flights, with Emirates using Air Canada to expand in the North American country. After all, Canada is famous for its highly limited traffic rights, which limit foreign carriers’ abilities to grow. Other carriers do similar things, such as Qatar Airways expanding its Australian footprint in collaboration with Virgin Australia. It even leases Boeing 777s to Virgin for this reason.
The Canadian-UAE agreement was loosened in 2023. As such, Air Canada added Vancouver-Dubai, Emirates began flights to Montreal, and Emirates, Air Canada, and Etihad finally increased Toronto service to daily, etc. There is no indication whether it will be loosened again.
Where Air Canada’s Vancouver-Dubai Passengers Went
According to booking data for winter 2024/2025, the five most popular countries via Dubai were India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka. At the city level, Tehran, Delhi, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Kochi were the top markets. Passenger volume was relatively minimal.