Emirates Airline Restores 96% Of Global Network As UAE Lifts Airspace Restrictions

2026-05-05 04:24:38

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Emirates Airlines announced it has restored 96 per cent of its global network, marking a near-full return to operations. This comes as the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority announced on Saturday that airspace restrictions in the country have been lifted after 63 days of partial closure due to the US-Israel-Iran war.

“Today, the airline operates to 137 destinations across 72 countries, with over 1,300 weekly frequencies, representing 75 per cent of pre-disruption capacity,” Emirates said in a statement, adding that it is now offering more flights, seats and options each day.

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Since the UAE announced a full and partial closure of its airspace on February 28, all UAE carriers have had to limit their flight operations and reduced the number of trips.

Emirates said it has progressively resumed services in the past weeks across the Americas, Europe, Africa, West Asia, the Middle East/GCC, the Far East and Australasia.

The Dubai-based carrier continued to serve 4.7 million passengers despite the disruptions, it said, proving that the demand for travel and the trust that travellers continued to place in the airline to get them where they needed to go.

UAE carriers ramp up operations

Other airlines in the country are ramping up operations in response to the full reopening of the UAE airspace. Flydubai, the budget airline, said it is increasing its flight capacity to accommodate travel demand.

“At flydubai, we are actively scaling up operations to meet growing demand, while maintaining our commitments to operational reliability and customer experience,” flydubai's CEO, Ghaith Al Ghaith, told Khaleej Times in a statement.

“We remain confident in the outlook for Dubai's aviation sector and its ability to adapt, recover and continue driving connectivity and economic growth across the region.”

The chief said the airline welcomes the full resumption of normal air traffic operations, which reflects the“strength, resilience and agility of the UAE's aviation ecosystem, supported by the clear and decisive leadership of the country.”

“The swift and coordinated measures taken across the sector have ensured the safe and efficient restoration of operations, reinforcing global confidence in Dubai as a leading international aviation hub,” Al Ghaith added.

Dubai Airports, which oversees Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), also announced on Monday morning that it is scaling operations and increasing flight movements.

Its CEO, Paul Griffiths, wrote on a LinkedIn post that Dubai Airports had to constantly adapt to maintain stability despite the volatile situation. He said that the airports' priority in these months has been to keep global journeys moving safely and consistently, even as regional airspace was significantly constrained.

“Operating within a disrupted corridor has meant aligning schedules, capacity and passenger flow in real time, often under rapidly changing conditions,” Griffiths said.“Since late February, DXB and DWC have safely supported the movement of more than 6 million guests, over 32,000 aircraft movements and more than 213,000 tonnes of essential cargo.”