40 years since the launch of the first Emirates Airlines flights

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first Emirates Airlines flight on October 25, 1985. From day one, Emirates Airlines was not just an air transport company, but rather a future vision that wanted to make Dubai a center linking the East and the West, and to present to the world a new model of luxury travel and operational efficiency.

The company, which is the largest international carrier in the world, was able to transport about 860 million passengers from the start of its operations until the end of the last fiscal year.

In October 1985, Emirates Airlines launched its first air route outside the UAE with only two aircraft, a rented Boeing 737 and an Airbus B4 300. The company’s first flight departed from Dubai International Airport to the Pakistani city of Karachi with 133 passengers on board.

On July 3, 1987, an Airbus A310-304, A6-EKA, flew from Toulouse to Dubai, making Emirates take delivery of its first owned aircraft.

Within five years of its establishment, Emirates Airlines’ flight network has grown to include 14 destinations.

In 1992, Emirates Airlines became the first airline to provide all seats in all travel classes in its fleet of aircraft with video systems. In the same year, it opened an exclusive building for its passengers at Dubai International Airport, at a cost of two million dollars.

In 1993, the carrier became the first airline company to provide express communications service in all three classes of travel on an Airbus aircraft, and the first airline company to provide its Airbus fleet with an in-flight fax service in 1994.

Emirates Airlines celebrated its 10th year, with a fleet flying to 34 destinations in the Middle East, the Far East and Europe, at the end of 1995, and received the first Boeing 777-002 aircraft, thus becoming the first airline company to display live images of take-offs and landings in 1996.

In record time, the company has proven its ability to compete with the most prestigious airlines in the world, thanks to unparalleled service and boldness in expansion.

Emirates Airlines was confidently expanding its network and investing in the latest and most advanced aircraft, becoming today the largest operator of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft in the world.

Then, in 1997, Emirates Airlines ordered the purchase of 16 Airbus 200-330 aircraft, worth two billion dollars, and increased its capacity by 26%, as the number of passengers recorded 3.7 million passengers, while air cargo traffic recorded 200 thousand tons in 1998.

The company’s success was not measured only by the number of aircraft, but rather by the change it brought about in the concept of travel itself. The company introduced concepts of luxury and innovation to the flying experience, from personal screens that preceded its time, to private suites, to make the trip an unforgettable experience.

Emirates Airlines also surprised the aviation industry at the Paris Air Show by concluding the largest deal in the history of the civil aviation industry, by ordering the purchase of 71 aircraft worth $19 billion in 2003.

In 2005, Emirates Airlines made history, after ordering the purchase of 42 Boeing 777 aircraft in a deal worth $9.7 billion. This was the largest order for aircraft of this type ever at that time, at a time when Emirates Airlines is currently the largest operator in the world for this type.

In 2008, Terminal 3 designated for Emirates Airlines was opened at Dubai International Airport, which handled 500,000 departing passengers during the first month of its operation.

The year 2013 recorded an increase in the capacity of Dubai International Airport to 75 million passengers annually, with the opening of “Concourse A”, which is the first facility in the world dedicated to “A380” aircraft.

In 2014, Emirates Airlines was named “the most valuable airline brand” in the world, and ranked first in the “Brand Finance” report for the most valuable brands in the Middle East.

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121.2 thousand employees

The total number of employees in the Emirates Group at the end of the last fiscal year (2024-2025) reached 121,223 employees, with a fleet of 266 wide-body aircraft, in addition to 306 “on-call” aircraft, while Emirates Airlines transported 53.7 million passengers in the same fiscal year.

Emirates Airlines opens the gates to the world and builds partnerships covering 1,750 cities

Emirates Airlines continued to diversify and expand its portfolio of agreements in terms of partnerships and alliances, to include 164 global partners, including 33 code partners, 118 interline agreements, and 13 partners for railway lines and multimodal transport in more than 100 countries, at the end of March this year, and explained that the Emirates network provides wide and diverse travel options. To customers through flexible schedules, smooth and convenient connectivity, and a network reach that extends to more than 1,750 cities until the end of March 2025. The company said that these expansions came within the framework of the carrier’s commitment to thoughtful and sustainable growth, which transcends geographical borders to connect cities around the world to the Dubai World network, thus enhancing trade and tourism opportunities and rapprochement between peoples.