Dubai: Emirates Eyes Over 300 Aircraft, 200 Destinations Before Al Maktoum Airport Shift

Emirates airline aims to have more than 300 aircraft and reach over 200 destinations before it shifts to Al Maktoum International Airport, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Adnan Kazim, deputy president and chief commercial officer of Emirates, said the number of aircraft that are in the pipeline for delivery is more than 380 aircraft, which will be handed over from 2027 to 2038. There are currently 269 aircraft in the airline's fleet, serving more than 140 destinations.

Speaking during a panel discussion at Dubai City Briefing organised by Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, he said this will be“the third era or next era of growth” for Dubai's flagship carrier.

The Dubai carrier will receive Boeing 777, Airbus A350, and other aircraft over the next 10 to 12 years.

The Dubai government earlier announced that the entire operations of Dubai International Airport will be relocated to Al Maktoum International Airport in 2032, making it the world's largest international airport. Once it's fully complete, it will serve over 260 million passengers annually.

During the first half of 2025-26, Emirates launched new flight services to Danang, Siem Reap, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. As of September 30, Emirates' passenger and cargo network spanned 153 airports in 81 countries and territories.

The airline strengthened its network connectivity by deploying 28 additional weekly scheduled flights to Antananarivo, Johannesburg, Muscat, Rome, Riyadh, and Taipei.

Kazim added that Emirates' aim to reach 400 destinations is in line with the D33 agenda to make Dubai a global aviation hub.

He noted that the aim is to connect“people from one end to another end with one stop only.

“Once we have these new aircraft come in, you will see the product on board that will come in, along with these aircraft, will be amazing. We're heading towards more than 300 aircraft, prior to DWC opening. We're also talking about more than 200 destinations prior to DWC. Once we get into DWC, the horizon will be completely open for us, with about 400 aircraft gates,” he said during the panel discussion.

Adnan Kazim noted that new aircraft ordered by Emirates and flydubai will offer a wide variety of options to travellers and tourists coming to Dubai.

He noted that Dubai has created an environment that helps the airlines to grow,

“The decision made back in 2020, of Dubai being the first one to open, created a lot of traffic as a lot of people came in and experienced what Dubai means, beyond advertisements. They saw Dubai's standard and quality, and that really benefited Dubai. And credit goes to the leadership,” he said, adding that as Dubai continues to raise the bar, Emirates is also doing the same from the airline's perspective.

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