Dubai's Emirates says passenger demand staying 'very high', exceeding forecast

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Dubai’s Emirates airline on Tuesday said that the passenger traffic demand is staying very high, exceeding its expectations and forecast.

While speaking during the first day of the Global Conference for Shaping Future Policies of Ports in Dubai on Tuesday, Adel Ahmed Al Redha, chief operating officer, forecasted that this trend will continue as the aviation sector is flying high after the pandemic.

“Demand continues to be very high and positive across our networks and every country we go to. It has exceeded our expectations and forecasts. We see this demand continuing to grow,” said Al Redha.

Emirates saw a spectacular turnaround in the last financial year as it posted Dh10.6 billion in profit as compared to a loss of Dh 3.9 billion in the previous year. Its revenues also jumped to Dh107.4 billion and its cash balance of Dh 37.4 billion.

In August 2023, the world’s largest international airline marked one of its busiest summers ever, carrying over 14 million passengers with average seat load factors exceeding 80 per cent across its global network between June and August. Since Dubai has become a year-round tourist destination, this has greatly benefited Emirates and other local carriers as well in the post-pandemic period.

Other airlines in the country also reported strong profits in 2022 on the back of revenge travel as more and more people are travelling in the post-pandemic period.

Air Arabia reported a Dh1.2 billion profit for 2022, up by 70 per cent. Similarly, flydubai reported a historic profit of Dh1.2 billion in 2022; an increase of 43 per cent compared to 2021.

Al Redha noted that the countries have seen the importance of travel and tourism sectors to their GDP during the pandemic.

He pointed out that new-age technologies can help cope with the challenges of limitations of airport infrastructure such as runway operations, terminal congestions etc. amidst heightened competition between airlines and airports around the world.