Emirates Airlines is going on a hiring spree as travel restrictions ease and passenger demand bounces back. The Dubai-based airline now says it will need at least 6,000 additional pilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground staff over the next six months alone in order to serve pent up demand.
“Our requirement for 6,000 additional operational staff signifies the quick recovery Dubai’s economy is witnessing and will lead to opportunities and other positive developments across various other businesses, including those in the Consumer, travel and tourism sectors,” commented the airline’s chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
The Sheikh noted that Emirates has long been a barometer of Dubai’s economy. When Emirates was slashing its workforce at the height of the pandemic, Dubai witnessed its steepest population decline in history and a real estate crash hit the region hard.
In September, Emirates embarked on a mission to recruit 3,000 cabin crew and 500 ground service employees. The airline now says it needs an additional 700 ground staff, 600 pilots and 1,200 skilled technical staff.
According to aircraft manufacturer Boeing, airlines in the Middle East will require as many as 200,000 additional employees over the next two decades. Airlines could hire as many as 54,000 pilots and 91,000 cabin crew through 2040 if Boeing’s predictions are correct.
Emirates is now serving 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic route network and Sheikh Al Maktoum believes the airline will be back at 2019 capacity levels by mid-2022.
The airline said on Monday that its entire Boeing 777 fleet was now in active service, while it hopes to increase the number of destinations served by its Airbus A380 superjumbo to 27 by the end of November.
