Spirit of Dubai

Faisal Muhammad Alshammari

15 May 2023

The tweet of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in which he republished the annual financial results of Emirates Airlines, and showed the most important figures, where revenues increased by 81% to exceed AED 119 billion, and a profit of more than AED 10 billion, while the number of passengers exceeded 43 million passengers, working on their comfort 102 thousand employees, announcing that this year is the highest profitable ever in the history of the company, and after the worst global crisis The global aviation industry has passed in the last three years (COVID-19 pandemic).

These figures reflect and confirm what our wise leadership repeats that "crises only make us stronger, and the years pass only when we are more determined to lead the world." The impressive successes and global figures achieved by Emirates Airline are evidence that it is a mirror of the success of Dubai and the Emirates, as it is the "soul of Dubai", and part of its most powerful and influential tools, undisputed, and no matter how much others seek or spend, they will only succeed by imitating this distinguished Emirati model, and at costs that are difficult to achieve any profit.

Revenues were estimated before the pandemic at 37.5% of Dubai's GDP, and the impact supporting the national company reached more than 754.5 thousand jobs, and it is estimated that Emirates Airlines may reach 70 million passengers, as the company's projects include raising the capabilities of infrastructure to support passenger growth and benefit from it.

The company's plans come as part of ambitious projects to diversify sources of income, to prove the genius, courage and unprecedented boldness of an ambitious leadership that achieved the impossible, and also moved us from establishment to empowerment, and transported us with ambitious human leaps from empowerment to centennial, to enter the age of space and aviation industries. Some estimates suggest that the country's air transport industry, including airlines and their supply chains, supports GDP by $19.3 billion, with foreign tourist spending also supporting GDP by another $28.1 billion, bringing the total to $47.4 billion.

Emirates Airline's announcement of the $200 million Aviation Sustainability Fund, the largest single commitment by any airline to sustainability focused on projects that will reduce the impact of fossil fuels on aviation, is an Emirati message in word and deed, proving that we seek to work together to partner with leading institutions in the field of research and development, to contribute effectively to finding practical solutions for the long-term sustainability of commercial aviation globally.

We have discussed global UAE initiatives in a previous article (Zero Emissions), and our enthusiasm and keenness on leadership push us to propose the development of the partnership of «Emirates Airlines» and «Etihad Airways», to establish a joint sustainability program, to unify national efforts in conducting experiments on the production of jet fuel from desert plants, through joint support for the initiative of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (a non-profit research consortium affiliated with Masdar Institute), to launch the world's first pilot project for bioenergy research. Using seawater-irrigated vegetation and desert land to produce food and jet fuel, to promote and support the announcement in January 2019 by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium of the world's first commercial flight operating using sustainable fuel, produced locally in the UAE, by an Etihad Airways aircraft, which departed from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam, marking an achievement in the development of alternative and environmentally clean jet fuel, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.

The production of environmentally friendly jet fuel is an innovative and sustainable solution that will contribute to a significant reduction in harmful emissions and strengthen our position among the leading countries in this field.

Pushing innovation to find long-term solutions to eliminate carbon emissions to achieve sustainable transport is vital, and the support required is not limited to the development of sustainable fuels in ample quantities and at a reasonable cost, but also must eliminate emissions, which is a difficult challenge that requires concerted efforts and innovative solutions, reducing transport costs and achieving annual savings, and also contributing to reducing pollution, a challenge that will contribute to leaving successive positive effects in terms of energy security and transition, and climate action, a challenge worthy of the name of the UAE and its flying falcons.

Management Consultant, Digital Transformation and Certified Corporate Excellence Expert

The impressive successes and global figures achieved by Emirates Airline are evidence that it is a mirror of the success of Dubai and the UAE.

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