Emirates flying near-empty planes back to Dubai as locals depart

State-owned carrier has seen its operations severely disrupted by the threats from Iranian missiles in its airspace. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Dubai – Emirates is operating flights to Dubai that are near-empty in some cases as travellers avoid the Persian Gulf, highlighting the challenges for the world’s largest international airline to restore its network amid a protracted war.

Flights from destinations in the United States and continental Europe have been impacted the hardest, with planes returning from Prague or Budapest only about 5 per cent to 10 per cent occupied, according to data compiled by the Dubai-based airline that was reviewed by Bloomberg.

Several aircraft returning from New York flew with only a fifth of the tickets sold, and at least one flight during the past week departed with fewer than 35 passengers on an Airbus A380 jet that ordinarily seats close to 500. Departures from Chicago operated with half-empty cabins, according to the documents.

Flights leaving Dubai show a very different pattern, as many people depart the city on the reduced number of planes available. Emirates then flies the jets back to its hub with low occupancy.

The airline also has to deal with several thousand no-shows every day on outbound flights, according to one memo, underscoring the complexities in running an operation that ordinarily includes hundreds of daily flights that are nearly full. The company is offering refunds and flexible rescheduling for flights until the end of the month.

Emirates said in a statement it will continue to restore its network at pace, provided it can do so safely. Given the circumstances, current inbound occupancy is unsurprisingly light, an official said in response to questions. The company said it doesn’t comment on specific route occupancy.