Emirates sees resilient passenger demand and restores 98 per cent network capacity

Dubai: Emirates saw “quite decent” passenger demand during the peak summer months of July and August, even as the Dubai travel industry navigated the impact of the regional conflict, with the airline restoring 98 per cent of its network capacity, a senior airline executive has said.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, said the airline had deployed almost all of its available network and aircraft capacity by the summer, while demand remained resilient.

“The demand was quite decent during summer, which is July, August,” Kazim said during a press conference ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai next week.

His comments come as Dubai’s tourism industry prepares for this year’s ATM, which officials at the briefing described as an important platform for rebuilding momentum and maintaining international connectivity amid a more challenging regional environment.

Commenting on how Emirates has been working towards post-war recovery, Kazim said, “In fact, the first month of the impact, which was month of March, we managed to recover almost 56 percent of the network in each month… And in two months of the conflict, like March and April, that reached to a little 4.7 million passengers.”

The figures offer a snapshot of how quickly Dubai’s aviation ecosystem recovered after the disruption seen earlier in the year.

He credited Dubai’s aviation infrastructure and wider tourism ecosystem for helping the airline restore operations.

Kazim said Emirates had reached 98 per cent of its network capacity, meaning the airline was close to deploying its full network despite the disruption earlier in the year.

“Almost were there in terms of deploying all what we have in terms of the aircraft, the network,” he said.

The figures offer a snapshot of how quickly Dubai’s aviation ecosystem recovered after the disruption seen earlier in the year.

He credited Dubai’s aviation infrastructure and wider tourism ecosystem for helping the airline restore operations.