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Emirates airline is“happy” to add more seats to Indian destinations, and countries that don't update their bilateral aviation agreement will lose, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline.

While replying to a question during a media interaction on the second day of Dubai Airshow 2025, the Emirates chief said the Dubai's flagship carrier has not increased to the Indian routes for over a decade, but it didn't stop Emirates from expanding its network.

“Who will be the losers? (Those ) who will not really update their bilaterals. In our case, we are happy to see that the Indians are giving us more seats in India, and that will play a major role in the Indian economy. That will be good for them and for us,” Sheikh Ahmed.

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The UAE has an open sky policy and bilateral aviation agreements with numerous countries to cater to a wide range of travellers.

This becomes even more important as the Dubai-India air corridor is one of the busiest in the region, as a huge number of South Asian country's diaspora lives in the UAE. More than 3.7 million Indian nationals live and work across the UAE, mostly in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

In addition, Emirates' wide network to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas provides a strong connectivity to the Indian diaspora living within the country and outside.

Dubai carrier operates to many Indian cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kolkata and Mumbai.

In addition to Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia, and Etihad Airways have direct flights to India. Similarly, all the Indian carriers operate direct flights to Dubai and other UAE cities.

Emirates has placed orders for hundreds of aircraft, which will be delivered over the coming years. Therefore, the carrier will be aggressively expanding its network and increasing frequency to different destinations.

On Monday, Emirates announced orders for 65 additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft worth $38 billion at list prices on the opening day of Dubai Airshow 2025. This took the total orderbook with Boeing to 315 widebody aircraft, comprising 270 Boeing 777Xs, 10 Boeing 777 freighters, and 35 Boeing 787s; and its orderbook with GE Aerospace for GE9X engines to a total of 540 units, including the 130 additional units signed today.

During the media interview, he added that India's decision not to increase seating capacity doesn't“stop the airline from buying aircraft, opening a new route. The globe is big. You push me not to go to one place. I will choose the other place to go to carry more and more passengers.”

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