Dubai: Emirates, the world’s largest long-haul airline, said it carried more than 10 million passengers on nearly 35,000 flights this summer.
The Dubai-based carrier is currently operating at 74 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity and plans to increase that to 80 per cent by year end. The airline is also commencing in November a $2 billion retrofit programme to equip 120 aircraft with its latest onboard products.
“Having anticipated the strong return of travel demand, Emirates worked closely with its airport partners to operate as scheduled, minimise travel disruptions, and take customers to their planned holidays and trips to see friends and family across the world over the summer,” said the carrier in a statement.
The airline ramped up operations to serve customer demand during the busy period, reinstating daily services to London Stansted, and increasing flights to 33 cities on popular routes across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as to holiday spots like the Seychelles, Maldives, Mexico, and Miami.
In June, Emirates added Tel Aviv to its global network and in July it added a third daily flight to London Gatwick to serve travellers impacted by capacity cuts at Heathrow.
The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, was also deployed to serve high customer demand at over 30 cities around its network.
On ground, the airline re-opened and was operating 32 signature Emirates Lounges, including 25 dedicated lounges at major airports across its network. The airline had also reinstated its trademark complimentary Chauffeur Drive airport transfers for First and Business Class customers in nearly all cities it serves.
