UAE. Ambitious Dubai-based carrier Emirates has cast off some of the gloom facing the region’s aviation industry by boosting its services in the strife-ridden Middle East.
Despite the escalating conflict in Iraq, Emirates is introducing extra flights between now and July. Services to Doha, Qatar will eventually increase to four daily flights; the Iranian capital of Tehran will get an extra four flights weekly; Sanaa in Yemen an extra two weekly; and Dammam in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait one extra weekly flight each.
Emirates commercial operations director Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “We are boosting our Middle East routes as part of the expansion taking place this summer across the whole network. We will not be deflected from our planned growth by the conflict in Iraq.”
The news is a tonic for Dubai Duty Free, which says its revenues are currently running at around -25% of pre-war levels but are still up on last year. Historically, Dubai Duty Free has been one of the most resilient world operators to any downturn and one of the quickest to bounce back.
