Dubai: Emirates, the world’s largest airline by international passenger traffic, is targeting double-digit passenger growth in its current fiscal year despite a first quarter operational slowdown and a turbulent global environment.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates airline executive vice president and chief operations officer, said in Dubai on Thursday the carrier is “expecting to reach 50 million passengers” in the 2014-15 financial year.

The airline carried 44.5 million passengers in the previous fiscal year, meaning it is targeting a 12.35 per cent increase. This would put growth slightly less than the 13.1 per cent seen in the previous financial year.

The Emirates Group, the airline’s parent company’s financial year runs from April 1 to March 31.

The airline saw capacity constraints during its first and second quarter when it grounded up to 23 aircraft over 80 days during runway repair works at Dubai International.

Emirates said last week it has so far axed the highest number of routes in a single year, including to Conakry in Guinea, Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan and Kiev in Ukraine. Emirates has since announced the resumption of Arbil services.

Al Redha said the airline would carry less cargo in the current fiscal cycle. It expects to carry 2.25 million tonnes of cargo, which would be 4.34 per cent less than the 2.3 million tonnes carried in the 2013-14 financial year.

Emirates SkyCargo, the airline’s freighter division, moved from Dubai International to Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) in May, to a 700,000 tonne annual capacity terminal. The airline also carries cargo in the bellies of its passenger planes.

On Wednesday, Tim Clark, Emirates president, told reporters the airline will continue to grow its passenger numbers between 8 and 10 per cent annually, which he said, is a “conservative figure”.

The airline’s passenger numbers grew by 8.4 per cent to 23.3 million in the six months ending September 30, 2013. Clark said the airline will receive 28 widebody aircraft, a combination of Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s, between now and March 16.

Pilot training centre

Further, Emirates is planning on building a pilot training centre in Dubai World Centre to help sustain growth amid a global shortage of trained commercial pilots. Al Redha said the company is likely to break ground on the construction earlier next year for the centre to be operational in 2016. In 2011, the airline said construction was to be completed by the third quarter of 2013. Al Redha did not give reason for the delays.