Emirates has announced plans to recruit nearly 20,000 operational staff by the end of this decade as part of a major fleet and network expansion. Adel Al Redha, the airline’s deputy president and chief operations officer, reportedly explained during a media briefing in Dubai that the hiring drive is linked to the delivery of new aircraft, which will be deployed to both new destinations and existing routes to increase flight frequency.
The recruitment will cover a wide range of operational roles, including cabin crew, pilots, engineers, technicians, and airport staff. Al Redha clarified that the 20,000 figure applies only to operational staff, and additional hires will be made in IT and administration. Emirates receives applications from both within the UAE and internationally, and while the airline runs its own training programmes, these do not fully meet staffing needs.
Special programmes are also in place to recruit Emirati nationals into engineering, cabin crew, IT, and management roles. At present, the intake capacity is about 120 Emiratis per year for cabin crew and engineering, but Al Redha, as per media reports, stated that the airline intends to increase this number in the future. Similar initiatives exist for IT and management, where graduates are deployed across the network in managerial positions.
The recruitment drive is tied to the fact that the airline expects 17 new Airbus A350s this year, while Boeing 777X will begin arriving from 2027. A separate hiring campaign will also be launched for a seat manufacturing unit in Dubai, a joint venture with Safran. Despite regional tensions affecting some European carriers, Emirates reportedly continues to operate at full capacity with strong demand across its network.
