Emirates Airline Reports 66% Drop in First-Half Net Profit - Sarmad

Emirates Airlines announced on Thursday that its net profit for the first half of the year fell by 66 percent, as regional airspace disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran affected travel across the Middle East and drove up jet fuel prices.

Net profit for Emirates reached 3.3 billion dirhams ($903 million) in the six months ending September 30, while revenues declined 13 percent to 56.9 billion dirhams, despite what the airline described as strong contributions from its cargo business and “continued demand for travel across the carrier’s various markets.”

The conflict has disrupted travel in the region this year, causing flights across the Middle East to be delayed, canceled, or rerouted, with several countries intermittently closing their airspace.

Gulf carriers, among the largest in the world, have gradually resumed operations, but the latest attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saudi Arabia have cast doubt on a full recovery.

In a statement, the Emirates Group, the Dubai-based parent company of Emirates Airlines, said, “The first half of the 2026-2027 fiscal year presented significant operational challenges for Emirates, amid restrictions and intermittent closures of airspace in the region, which placed the carrier’s operational flexibility under exceptional tests, alongside the impact of government travel advisories on passenger choices and travel patterns.”

The airline stated that Emirates had restored 91 percent of its pre-disruption network operations by the end of September.

Passenger capacity, measured by available seat kilometers, fell 17 percent in the first six months, while the seat load factor stood at 72 percent, compared to 79.5 percent during the same period last year.

The carrier transported a total of 21.8 million passengers in the first six months, a 22 percent decline from the same period a year ago.