World's biggest international carrier and its most profitable airline. Based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Its short-haul partner is FlyDubai. Dubai is the destination for around half of Emirates' passengers; connecting flyers, who spend only a few hours in Gulf airports, make up the rest.
At the Dubai airshow in November 2025, Emirates and FlyDubai placed large orders for new aircraft, as did Etihad, betting on further growth. Before the 2026 war with Iran, IATA had forecast that the Middle East would bring in 17% of the $41bn in net profits it expected for the global airline industry that year.
The Iran war disrupted operations: on March 16th 2026 Emirates was forced to cancel flights and reroute some planes mid-air after a drone attack on Dubai's airport.
I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.