In 1984, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then UAE Minister of Defence, initiated the development of a comprehensive business plan to form a new national airline.

The following year, Emirates was formed with US$10 million from the royal family, some modest private investment and support from Pakistan International Airlines.

The new airline carried about 260,000 passengers and 10,000 tons of freight in its first year, and subsequently experienced annual growth of at least 20 per cent.

Emirates proved its resilience during the Gulf War in the early 1990s, when it was the only airline to continue flying in the last ten days of the war.

In this same period, Emirates became one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, with revenue increasing at a rate of approximately US$100 million per year.

Emirates flew its first route – from Dubai to Karachi – in 1985 with just two aircraft: a Boeing 737-300 and an Airbus 300B4-200, both leased from Pakistan International Airlines.

In 1987, the airline took delivery of its first owned aircraft, an A310-304, from manufacturer Airbus in Toulouse.

Emirates placed an order for seven Boeing 777s in 1992, greatly expanding its fleet of twin-engine widebody aircraft.

In 2000, the airline became the first to sign up for the superjumbo Airbus A380 – the largest passenger aircraft ever built – placing an initial order of seven.

Emirates was the first airline to operate the ultra-long-range Airbus A340-500 model, which it introduced in 2003.

Emirates was the first Middle Eastern airline to operate a long-haul service to Europe, introducing a direct flight to London in 1990.

In its first five years of operation, the airline expanded to 14 international destinations, including India, Pakistan, Germany and a range of countries across the Middle East.

In 2004, Emirates flew its first route to New York, connecting Dubai International Airport with John F. Kennedy International Airport.

In 2007, Emirates became the first carrier to operate a direct service between the Middle East and South America, when it launched six weekly flights to and from Brazil.

Emirates introduced the first direct flight from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand, in 2016 – one of the world’s longest non-stop commercial flights at that time.

During 2024, Emirates added two new destinations, Bogotá and Madagascar, whilst resuming flights to Phnom Penh, Lagos, Adelaide and Edinburgh.

Dubai International Airport is consistently one of the busiest airports in the world and in Q1 of 2025, recorded 23.4 million passengers. January 2025 proved its busiest month ever with 8.5 million visitors.

The airport is the oldest international airport in Dubai and was inaugurated in 1960 when Middle East Airlines landed the first plane on the 1.8 kilometre-long compacted sand runway.

Construction of an asphalt runway began in 1963 and was completed two years later. By 1969, the airport was served by nine international airlines flying to 20 destinations.

In the 1980s, the airport expanded, with a second terminal building, additional runways and improved infrastructure.

In the 2000s further expansion began, and Emirates’ new Terminal 3 was the largest building in the world by floor space when it opened in 2008.

Today, Emirates is the largest airline in the Middle East by fleet size, and the only airline of its size operating an all-widebody fleet.

As of March 2025, the group had 260 aircraft in its fleet, with 314 more, including 61 A350s, 205 Boeing 777X, 35 787s, and 13 777Fs, on order. In 2025 Emirates also launched its new fleet of A350 aircraft to nine destinations.

Emirates is one of the top ten airlines worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometres flown.

Since 2002, the UAE has had an Open Skies Agreement with the US, providing carriers in the two countries with equal access to each other’s markets, strengthening business travel and tourism, and improving consumer choice.

The airline’s revenue is geographically diverse, spread across six regions, with Europe representing the largest share at 31 per cent.

Emirates’ ground-based team is present on six continents, with more than 2000 staff in over 120 call centres and retail outlets outside Dubai.

In 1992, Emirates became the first airline to install video systems in all seats, across every cabin class in its fleet, providing unrivalled inflight entertainment.

New cabin crew recruits undergo a rigorous seven-and-a-half-week training programme, focusing on safety and service excellence in order to deliver the ‘world’s best inflight experience’.

In 2003, Emirates launched its ‘ice’ (Information, Communication, Entertainment) system, setting a new standard for inflight entertainment with a vast selection of movies, TV shows, music and games on demand.

The airline introduced refreshed interior styling for all its Boeing 777 fleet in 2017, including fully enclosed first-class private suites inspired by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan.

Emirates has invested over US$350 million installing Thales’s AVANT Up system to provide next-generation inflight entertainment systems in its new A350 fleet.

During 2024, Emirates incorporated a further 99 aircraft into its ambitious cabin retrofit programme, which will upgrade 219 aircraft at a total cost of US$5 billion.

In 2003, the group established the Emirates Airline Foundation, which has since supported 50 social projects around the world, from Bangladesh to Zimbabwe.

An example of the foundation’s work is its financing of the Emirates Friendship Hospital, a floating medical facility that supports communities in Bangladesh, regularly treating over 10,000 patients per month.

In 2014, dnata, the group company that provides ground and cargo handling, inflight catering, and travel services, set up its dnata4good employee-driven initiative to give back to the communities it serves.

Emirates has switched to renewable power at all its major facilities. In Dubai, these include its engine maintenance centre, Emirates Flight Catering and its new pilot training centre.

Together, these installations generate over 9000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year, saving about 4 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions.

In 2020, the airline’s freight division, Emirates SkyCargo, set up the world’s first dedicated airside cargo hub for cold chain storage and global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

During the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Emirates became the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™.

Emirates SkyCargo offers cargo capacity on the airline’s fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, as well as having 10 dedicated Boeing 777 freighters. In 2025, it had 13 Boeing 777Fs on order, scheduled for delivery during 2025 and 2026.

Serving more than 140 destinations in over 80 countries on six continents, it is regularly ranked as one of the leading cargo airlines in the world.

In 2024–2025, Emirates SkyCargo carried 2.3 million tonnes of cargo to destinations around the world.

With an average age of 5.7 years, the aircraft in Emirates SkyCargo’s fleet are amongst the newest in the sector.

Via its two terminals in Dubai, Emirates SkyCargo offers total cargo capacity of around 1 million tonnes per year and transit times of as little as three hours air-to-air.

Over the next ten years, Emirates SkyCargo plans to double its existing capacity and add more than 20 new destinations to its freighter network.

Emirates was ranked first among 25 airlines for safety in 2022, achieving a risk index of 95.05 per cent in a survey conducted by JACDEC.

It is the only airline to achieve a gold award for health and safety performance in transport from RoSPA, an accolade it has received for four consecutive years.

The airline has partnered with computer vision specialist Seeing Machines to utilise advanced gaze tracking technology to study pilots’ interactions during real-time procedures that could potentially pose safety risks.

Over 34,000 employees received training on Emirates’ safety management system in 2024–2025.

In December 2022, Emirates completed its latest International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit with zero findings – the equivalent of a perfect score, and a rare occurrence in the industry.

In 2023, the group invested US$135 million to build an advanced pilot training facility in Dubai, covering 5882 square metres and including six full-flight simulator bays.

Founded in 1959, dnata is a major part of the Emirates group, with over 15,000 employees working in the UAE and more than 49,000 worldwide.

In 1993, dnata oversaw its first international expansion, forming a joint venture to provide ground handling services at Karachi Airport, which became Pakistan’s largest ground handling company.

Airport operations continue to contribute the most to dnata’s business, servicing 95 airports across 16 countries outside of Dubai.

During 2024–2025, dnata invested US$27 million in a 57,000 metres squared warehouse in Dubai South and also signed a lease agreement with Zurich’s airport authority to utilise a new, state-of-the-art warehouse from 2027.

The company has rolled out its advanced OneCargo system globally to automate business functions such as safety and quality monitoring, reporting, and unit load device management.

dnata is implementing various major infrastructure projects, including a 61,000-square-metre fully automated cargo centre at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, with an investment of over €200 million.

In 2023, dnata was awarded a multi-year contract by China Airlines in the Czech Republic to provide inflight catering from its advanced facility at Prague Airport.

The group is the title sponsor of the annual Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, connecting book lovers with the best literary talent the world has to offer.

The group is also the title sponsor of the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival, bringing internationally recognised musicians together for an annual festival that attracts more than 30,000 visitors.

In 2004, Emirates signed a £100-million deal with English Premiership football club Arsenal, renaming the club’s new stadium and launching one of the longest-running partnerships in the world of sport.

The airline has been a sponsor and worldwide partner of the Rugby World Cup since 2007, and title sponsor of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens for over 30 years.

Emirates has been principal sponsor for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for more than 21 years, making this the airline’s longest-running non-sports partnership.

Emirates has partnered with Amazon Web Services to develop an immersive extended reality platform for cabin crew training, offering a 3D interactive experience featuring virtual classrooms and gamified environments.

The group has rolled out advanced biometric technology at Dubai International Airport to streamline airport operations, facilitating a contactless, more convenient journey for customers.

Emirates will deploy high-speed broadband onboard its 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft, powered by Inmarsat’s inflight solution GX Aviation.

Working with a specialist agency, Emirates’ flight operations team developed a novel navigation system to boost cargo capacity for its flights into Kabul International Airport.

In 2018, Emirates introduced 3D seat models for customers, becoming the first airline to implement virtual reality technology via its digital platform.

Through a US$200 million aviation sustainability fund, Emirates is supporting research and development into advanced fuel technologies that can reduce the environmental impact of aviation.

In March 2025 it was announced that Emirates had partnered with Parsys Telemedicine to deliver groundbreaking telemedicine equipment, through a US$2.4 million investment.

During 2024–2025, Emirates enhanced its internet booking engine, automating and streamlining the sales process for customers whilst offering new options to book related services whilst checking in, including hotels and car rentals, whilst redeeming Skywards Miles.

The airline was recognised as a ‘World Class’ airline in the 2024 APEX/IFSA Awards.

Emirates won no fewer than five prestigious awards at the grand final of the 30th Annual World Travel Awards in December 2023, most notably the title of ‘World’s Leading Airline for the Middle East’, but also first place for ‘Inflight Entertainment’, ‘First Class’, ‘Brand’, and ‘Rewards Programme’ (Emirates Skywards).

The airline secured the coveted ‘Best Airline Worldwide’ title at the Business Traveller Middle East Awards in 2023, marking its tenth consecutive year at the top spot.

In 2023, dnata was named ‘Ground Handler of the Year’ at the Air Cargo News Awards for the ninth successive year.

2024 saw Emirates named the World’s Leading Airline – First Class, World’s Leading Airline – Brand, World’s Leading Airline – Inflight Entertainment and World’s Leading Airline – Rewards Program at the World Travel Awards.

The organisation also won the Best Airline App Worldwide and Best Airline App in the Middle East titles at the World Travel Tech Awards 2024, for good measure.

In 2025, Emirates dominated the Business Traveller Middle East (BTME) Awards winning trophies for Best First Class, Best Premium Economy Class, and Best Airport Lounge in the Middle East, along with the main award for Best Airline Worldwide, for the 12th consecutive year.