Dubai’s passenger airline Emirates announced a record-breaking $4.7 billion in profits for the 2023 calendar year on Monday in what company chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum called a year of “tremendous results.”
A subsidiary of the holding company Emirates Group, which itself is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the sheikdom’s sovereign wealth fund, Emirates struggled financially during the coronavirus pandemic but has made a strong recovery in the last two years.
Reportedly, the airline had to be bailed out in the amount of approximately $4 billion due to the global downturn in travel wrought by the pandemic.
Based at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travelers, Emirates reported carrying 51.9 billion passengers this year, an increase of about 8 billion compared to the year prior.
Overall, more than 89 billion travelers passed through Dubai International Airport in 2024.
“Throughout the year, we saw high demand for air transport and travel-related services around the world… We are reaping the benefit of years of non-stop investments in our products and services, in building strong partnerships, and in the capabilities of our talented people,” Al-Maktoum noted in Monday’s statement.
The airline, backed by the wealth of the oil-rich Gulf state, plans to continue investing in the expansion of its fleet. It has committed to purchasing 90 Boeing 777 aircraft in the coming years.
