Emirate continue to fly to Russia for as long as the UAE government requires it

Despite western sanctions against the Kremlin, Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark said on March 29 that the airline will continue to fly passengers to Russia for as long as its owners require it to do so.

Emirates, the Emirates-owned international carrier based in Dubai, has been flying diplomats in and out of Russia using Emirates aircraft.

Clark explained that there were two reasons for this. "We are obviously not under any direction from our ownership to stop operating to Russia. Therefore, we plan to keep on doing so until we're told we can't. It should be noted, though, that these sanctions are not directed against the Russian people or the Russian citizens. They are still people like you and me, and they want the ability to travel.

In our holds, we transport humanitarian goods. There are many reasons why we fly. Non-governmental organizations travel to and from Russia frequently. As far as I can see, all we are doing is facilitating the diplomatic community's activity in Russia so we are merely acting as an enabler, without taking any political stance for the time being," Clark explained.

“So as long as the state, our owner, requires us to fly there, we will continue,” the carrier’s President added.

31 March 2022