(March 6): Emirates announced a return to full network operations in coming days as the world’s largest international airline seeks to bounce back from a week-long hiatus prompted by missile attacks from Iran.
The resumption of commercial flying activity is subject to airspace availability and the fulfilment of all operational requirements, Emirates said in a statement on Friday.
Dubai’s flag carrier was forced to cancel thousands of flights as retaliatory strikes from Iran led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to shut its airspace and caused minor structural damage to the hub at Dubai International Airport.
The airline said it carried about 30,000 passengers out of Dubai on Thursday. By Saturday — a week after hostilities began — Emirates, will have 106 daily return flights operating to 83 destinations, representing almost 60% of the route network.
The Dubai carrier will operate 11 daily flights across five airports in the UK. Additional flights are also being offered across India, with Emirates scaling up to 22 daily services to all nine of its destinations in the Asian country by March 7. The airline is currently operating seven of its routes in the US.
Rival Etihad Airways also said on Friday that it’s resuming operations to about 70 destinations. Both carriers had begun conducting evacuation flights and some limited operations since Monday.
The UAE is still under threat from Iranian missiles. On Friday morning, Abu Dhabi Airport staff escorted people to a shelter as alarms of overhead missiles rung on passengers’ phones.
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Qatar Airways, the region’s second-biggest carrier, along with airlines in Bahrain and Kuwait, are still grounded as the airspace over those nations remains closed.
While Emirates has not commented on the cost from the disruption, the week-long pause in commercial operations and the resulting dislocation of planes and crews will have an impact on the airline’s revenue. The last time the carrier experienced broader stoppage was during floods in Dubai in 2024, which Emirates said led to US$110 million in losses.
Some international competitors have seized on the opportunity, with Deutsche Lufthansa AG saying it will put more capacity on longhaul routes to Asia and Africa.
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“We see the possibility that travel patterns might also change for longer,” Lufthansa chief financial officer Till Streichert said on a call with analysts on Friday. “Potentially persisting security concerns around the Gulf region might also lead to more traffic within Europe, or through European hubs or US destinations.”
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