Dubai’s Emirates to hire 20,000 staff by end of 2030

Dubai: Emirates is set to recruit nearly 20,000 operational staff by the end of the decade as the Dubai-based airline prepares for a major expansion of its fleet and network.

Adel Al Redha, Deputy President and Chief Operations Officer at Emirates, made the announcement during a media roundtable at the airline's headquarters in Dubai on Wednesday.

"We continue to hire to meet our needs as we will receive more aircraft, which will be deployed to new destinations or current routes to increase frequency," Al Redha said.

Vacancies on offer

The recruitment drive will span multiple operational roles across the airline's operations. Vacancies will be available for cabin crew, pilots, engineers, technicians and airport staff.

“This 20,000-figure represents operational staff – cabin crew, pilots, airport staff, and engineering staff. Beyond this, you can add more for IT and administration,” he said.

Emirates receives applications from both within the UAE and internationally. The airline also runs its own training programmes, though these cannot satisfy all requirements.

UAE nationals programme

Al Redha also revealed that the airline has special programmes aimed at recruiting more Emirati nationals into various positions.

The airline has specific programmes to qualify UAE nationals in engineering, cabin crew, management, and IT roles. Currently, the highest intake capacity is about 120 Emiratis per year for the cabin crew and engineering programmes.

"We have a plan to increase this number in the years to come, while using our training capacity," Al Redha said. Similar programmes exist for IT and management, where graduates are deployed across the network for various managerial roles.

Recruitment challenges?

When asked about industry-wide recruitment difficulties, particularly for pilots, Al Redha said Emirates has not experienced such problems. He attributed this to Dubai's appeal as a destination for potential employees.

“I guess we're lucky to be in the UAE. We're lucky to be in Dubai, and this city offers a lot for candidates – it offers them security, confidence, a good lifestyle, and living that matches all categories and nationalities from the globe. Therefore, you don't see big resistance from an expat applying for any of these roles to move to Dubai,” Al Redha explained.

The recruitment drive is linked to the airline's aggressive aircraft delivery schedule. Emirates expects to receive 17 additional A350 aircraft during this calendar year alone, which will be deployed to new destinations or for extra frequencies on existing routes.

“These aircraft will be deployed to new destinations or for extra frequencies on existing routes,” he said.

Boeing deliveries, specifically the 777X, are expected to commence in 2027, with no Boeing aircraft deliveries scheduled for this year.

Strong demand across network

Al Redha confirmed that Emirates continues to see high demand across its entire network, despite regional tensions causing some European airlines to reduce Middle East operations.

“So far, we have seen the demand in our operation as expected and as normal. We haven't seen any changes to that. We're operating our schedule at 100% of our published operations using our normal contingency plans without any disruption,” he said.