- Emirates Retains Most Profitable Airline Status as Group Revenue Hits US$41bn
The Emirates Group has posted a record US$6.6 billion profit before tax for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, reinforcing its position as one of the world’s strongest aviation groups despite major operational disruption in the Gulf region late in the reporting period.
The group reported profit before tax of AED 24.4 billion, equivalent to US$6.6 billion, representing a 7% increase from the previous year. Revenue rose 3% to AED 150.5 billion, or US$41 billion, while cash assets increased 12% to AED 59.6 billion, equivalent to US$16.2 billion.
The group also declared a dividend of AED 3.5 billion, or US$1 billion, to its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai. After accounting for a higher UAE corporate tax rate of 15%, introduced under Pillar Two tax rules, profit after tax stood at AED 21 billion, or US$5.7 billion, up 3%.
Emirates, the airline business, retained its position as the world’s most profitable carrier during the 2025-2026 reporting period. The airline recorded profit before tax of AED 22.8 billion, or US$6.2 billion, up 7% from the previous year.
Airline revenue rose 2% to AED 130.9 billion, equivalent to US$35.7 billion, while cash assets reached a record AED 54.9 billion, or US$15 billion. Passenger and cargo capacity increased 1% to 60.6 billion available tonne kilometres.
During the year, Emirates carried 53.2 million passengers, with a passenger seat factor of 78.4%. The airline also expanded its network with four new destinations Da Nang, Hangzhou, Siem Reap and Shenzhen taking its global reach to 152 cities across 80 countries.
The record performance came despite significant disruption to commercial air traffic in the Gulf region in the final month of the reporting year.
Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said military activity on February 28 “massively disrupted global commercial air traffic in the Gulf region, including in the UAE,” forcing Emirates and dnata to mobilise quickly to protect staff, support affected customers, safeguard assets and maintain business continuity.
He said Dubai’s aviation infrastructure helped the airline gradually restore operations, although passenger capacity remains below pre-disruption levels.
The group continued to invest heavily through the disruption. Emirates Group invested AED 17.9 billion, or US$4.9 billion, in aircraft, facilities, equipment and technology during the year.
Emirates took delivery of 15 new Airbus A350 aircraft, bringing its fleet to 277 aircraft with an average age of 10.8 years. At the 2025 Dubai Airshow, the airline announced further fleet investments worth US$41.4 billion for 65 additional Boeing 777-9 aircraft and eight A350-900 aircraft. Its order book now stands at 367 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled through 2038.
The performance of dnata, the group’s aviation services arm, also strengthened. dnata reported profit before tax of AED 1.6 billion, or US$437 million, up 2%, while revenue rose 12% to a record AED 23.6 billion, equivalent to US$6.4 billion.
Its cash assets increased 28% to AED 4.7 billion, or US$1.3 billion. The company handled 888,793 aircraft turns globally and processed 3.2 million tonnes of cargo during the year.
Looking ahead, Sheikh Ahmed said the group remains cautious but confident, noting that military activity between the United States, Israel and Iran had paused under a ceasefire agreement.
“The Emirates Group enters 2026-27 with very strong cash reserves, which enable us to progress with our plans to strengthen our business without knee-jerk cost control measures,” he said.
“Our fundamentals are strong. The Emirates Group’s proven business model is unchanged,” he added.
For the global aviation industry, Emirates’ results underline the advantage of scale, balance-sheet strength and hub efficiency at a time when airlines are still navigating geopolitical risk, fuel price volatility, fleet delivery delays and uneven passenger demand across regions.
For Dubai, the performance reinforces the strategic importance of aviation to its global trade, tourism and logistics ambitions. For competitors, it confirms that Emirates remains one of the most financially resilient carriers in the industry, with deep liquidity, a growing fleet and a network strategy built around long-haul connectivity through the Gulf.
