Emirates Has No Plans To Stop Russia Flights

Emirates president Sir Tim Clark has once more said that the airline has no such plans of not flying to Russia. Sir Tim says that such steps will not be taken by the airline until it is instructed to do so. The Emirates president says that the airline plays an important role in keeping Russia well connected to the world and thinks that the passengers flying on the Dubai – Moscow route have nothing to do with the current situation in Ukraine and they should not be penalised for it.

In a recent interview with BBC’s Middle East business correspondent Sameer Hashmi, The Emirates president said that the airline will not stop operations on the Russian routes until the owner of the airline which is the Government of Dubai directs him to do so.

Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said,

If we are told to stop we will stop, unless we are told otherwise, we will continue,” Sir Tim said. This message from Emirates isn’t new. Rather, it is a line Sir Tim has repeated since other airlines began pausing their Moscow flights and banning Russia-based airlines from their airspace two months ago.

Emirates continues operating daily flights to Moscow

Emirates continues to fly on the Dubai-Moscow route daily through its flagship aircraft Airbus A380-800. The airline operates one or two flights everyday between Dubai and Moscow. FlyDubai which is another low-cost airline owned by the Government of Dubai also flies on the Dubai-Moscow route twice a day.

The Emirates president says that it is not his decision if the airline will operate on the Russian route or not. The airline carries humanitarian supplies on the flight for Russia into Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. “We are catering to people who are on the periphery of the main issue here, and that is probably the way the government looks at it,” he told the BBC.

Previously, the Emirates boss has highlighted the importance of facilitating NGO and diplomatic passenger traffic in and out of Moscow. He added as far as cargo goes, Sir Tim says Emirates doesn’t carry goods subject to sanctions. “All we’re doing is being an enabler, facilitator, without taking a political position on this for the time being,” the Emirates President said in March.

The west may not approve the airline’s decision pf still flying on the Russian route but the airline has no such plans. The Emirates president says that the airline is making good profits, most of the Emirates Airbus A380s are in service and only a few Emirates Boeing 777 are parked. The President says that we are short of crew members which is the reason the airline is not able to operate fully. He also said that Emirates is not facing any kind of demand shortage.

“If we can have all our aircraft flying today, 270 of them then we would. I can’t because I am just short of crew,” Sir Tim told the BBC. The pandemic saw Emirates lay off thousands of workers, but now Sir Tim wants to hire 3,000 to 4,000 cabin crew and pilots to cater to that roaring demand and get those parked planes back in the air.

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