The Emirates Group stayed in profit through six months of Gulf conflict and surging fuel prices, announcing a half-year profit before tax of AED 4.1 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) for the first six months of its 2026-27 financial year. The result, announced in Dubai on 5 November 2026, is 66% lower than the same period last year — but it comes after a period in which intermittent airspace closures, government travel advisories and jet fuel prices that doubled tested one of the world’s biggest airline groups.
After tax, the Group’s profit was AED 3.6 billion (US$ 1.0 billion), also down 66%. Group revenue fell 12% to AED 66.2 billion (US$ 18.0 billion), from AED 75.4 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — EBITDA — came in at AED 12.5 billion, down 41% from the record AED 21.1 billion of the same period last year.
“It has been a demanding six months, and once again our business model and our people stood up to the test,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Group’s Chairman and Chief Executive. “Against unprecedented regional challenges and high fuel prices, the Group has delivered a profit before tax of AED 4.1 billion. Customer demand held firm and our cargo operations made a strong contribution.”
The headline numbers: profit down two-thirds, cash still strong
The Emirates Group half-year profit 2026-27 figure looks weak only against last year’s record. The Group closed the half year with a cash position of AED 54.1 billion (US$ 14.7 billion) on 30 September 2026, down from AED 59.6 billion at the end of March. That cash pile let the Group fund pre-delivery payments for new aircraft and service existing debt from its own reserves, and it paid the remaining AED 2 billion of the AED 3.5 billion dividend declared to its owner, the Investment Corporation of Dubai, for 2025-26.
The airline itself — Emirates — earned a profit before tax of AED 3.7 billion (US$ 1.0 billion), down 68% from its record AED 11.4 billion a year earlier, on revenue of AED 56.9 billion, down 13%. Its ground-handling and travel arm, dnata, posted a profit before tax of AED 410 million (US$ 112 million), down 51%, on revenue of AED 11.0 billion, down 7%.
The Group’s employee base slipped 2% to 128,237 people by 30 September, although both Emirates and dnata say recruitment drives are still running. Sheikh Ahmed struck a cautious note for the months ahead: “We enter the second half of our 2026-27 financial year with measured optimism. While keeping a close watch on costs and geopolitical developments, we remain focused on delivering what Emirates and dnata are known for – safety, quality, and customer satisfaction.”
What hit the airline: closed airspace, travel warnings, doubled fuel
The first six months of 2026-27 — 1 April to 30 September — brought what the Group called significant challenges. Intermittent airspace restrictions and closures across the Gulf tested the airline’s operational agility, while government travel advisories reshaped where passengers chose to fly. Emirates responded by rebuilding its network through the Dubai hub: by 30 September it was operating 91% of its pre-disruption network, serving 150 airports in 78 countries and territories.
Passenger traffic fell sharply. Emirates carried 21.8 million passengers in the half year, down 22% from the same period last year. Capacity measured in available seat kilometres fell 17%, traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres fell 25%, and the average passenger seat factor dropped to 72.0% from 79.5%.
Fuel was the other blow. Global jet fuel prices doubled against the same period last year, according to Sheikh Ahmed. Emirates’ fuel costs before hedging gains rose 60%, even though it uplifted 12% less fuel because it flew less. Gains of AED 7.1 billion from its fuel price risk management strategy cut the net fuel cost increase to 13% — but fuel still made up 34% of the airline’s operating costs, its single largest expense. Overall operating costs fell just 2%, in line with the smaller operation.
To keep customers flying, Emirates rolled out an industry-first travel cover unrestricted by government travel advisories, free date changes and generous refund policies. It also kept investing: nine new A350 aircraft arrived, 12 aircraft completed full cabin refurbishments, and 36 more aircraft were fitted with Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi, taking the Starlink-equipped fleet to 57. In May it broke ground on a US$ 5.1 billion engineering and maintenance facility at Al Maktoum International Airport, due for completion in the mid-2030s.
Cargo did the heavy lifting: revenue up 52% as tonnage slipped
If passengers were the weak spot, cargo was the surprise strength. Emirates SkyCargo transported 1.2 million tonnes in the half year, down 1% on last year — yet cargo revenue jumped 52%. The regional conflict squeezed available airfreight capacity across the Gulf while pushing shippers towards airfreight because of disruptions to marine transport, and Emirates seized the opportunity.
The cargo division added capacity from five new Boeing 777 freighters delivered in the period and its first passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft. It expanded its freighter network with two new destinations, Almaty and Zhengzhou, added dedicated freighter services to more than 15 existing Emirates destinations, and increased frequencies to several Far East markets.
dnata, meanwhile, adapted its airport operations, catering, retail and travel divisions to the same pressures, with its international businesses offsetting weaker volumes in the UAE and the UK. It signed multi-year deals including a cargo partnership with Silk Way Group in Singapore and inflight catering contracts with Cathay Pacific in the UK and the USA, and won a seven-year ground handling licence at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Its airport operations remained its largest revenue contributor at AED 5.4 billion, down 3%.
What it means for Pakistan: the Dubai hub held, and cargo kept moving
For Pakistan, the result matters because Emirates is one of the main carriers linking Pakistani travellers and exporters to the world through Dubai. The airline kept 91% of its pre-disruption network flying, which means the Pakistan–Dubai routes that carry workers, students, families and business travellers stayed connected through the worst of the disruption. The free date changes and refund policies mattered most to exactly those passengers, many of whom book months ahead.
The cargo story matters too. Pakistani exporters of textiles, fresh produce and other goods rely on airfreight capacity out of the region, and the 52% jump in SkyCargo revenue shows how tight that capacity became — and how much shippers were willing to pay for it. Emirates’ decision to keep adding freighters and freighter destinations suggests the airline expects that demand to hold.
The wider Gulf picture is also relevant at home: Pakistan’s external financing position has been in focus this week, with China and Kuwait assuring rollovers worth US$ 4.3 billion, and the Gulf’s turbulence has been felt from shipping lanes to fuel prices. Emirates’ half-year numbers are a snapshot of that turbulence — a profitable group, but one that earned two-thirds less than a year ago because of it. Whether the second half recovers depends on the same two things that shaped the first: whether the Gulf stays calm enough for airspace and travel advisories to keep easing, and whether fuel prices come back down.
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