NASA, I understood that famil flights were approved quite some time ago by EK's Chief Pilot, H al H. If this is so, I can't think why they haven't gone ahead unless the holdup is at your end.
Fox3, no one, certainly not me, is trying to sling off at the undoubted abilities of the individual controllers who work Emirates and Dubai App/Twr. My point was - and is - that the SYSTEM at Heathrow is also vey good, allowing the controllers there - (who are also very good) - to run a very efficient operation.
What's particularly good from a pilot's perspective is the close in holding patterns at Heathrow. The innermost one for traffic inbound from the East is Lambourne, (there are others, further out, wich are only used if Lambourne fills up), which usually allows all incoming traffic to maintain clean speed until the start of the base turn.
Some 777 pilots offer the Heathrow App controllers their min clean speed when first checking in. Some Heathrow controllers (not all) note this and allow them to maintain that speed until the final turn. (230 k instead of the standard 220 k ex Lambourne.)
The close in hold works a treat - for all concerned. the pilots get to save some fuel, the controllers have a lot of flexibility with the easily stretchable 'S' turn from Lambourne to touchdown. With a minimum holding altitude of 7,000' and a miles to run from the hold of approx 30 miles, this usually allows a very comfortable decelleration and 'dirty up' without dragging the aircraft in - sometimes with gear down and in level flight - which all too often is the case into Dubai.
A hold over the Sharjah VOR with a min holding alt of 7000' would not interfere with arrivals and departures at Sharjah. (Granted, it would require an amendment to some DXB SIDS.) It would also provide the DXB APP controllers with almost the same flexibility as LAM does the Heathrow controllers - and would involve far less of a fiddle for all concerned is the runway had to be changed in the middle of the nighty rush hour.