• RESILIENCE
not just react to it once they’re on the aircraft. That’s where I think the biggest shift is still to come. Everyone in the industry talks about it, but implementing this at scale across all customer touchpoints is still some way to go. Q: Where is Emirates already seeing tangible impact from AI adoption, and how far do you believe this technology can transform the travel experience? AI has been part of Emirates’ operations for longer than people realise. Operationally, we have been using predictive analytics to monitor aircraft performance and get ahead of maintenance issues, AI-assisted flight planning and routing, and AI-driven crew rostering. We have recently deployed AI to support our check- in agents too. They can now type a question in plain English and get an answer in seconds, so they can serve customers faster and better. We’ve also
invested AED 85 million (US$23.1 million) in biometric cameras across Terminal 3 to allow more customers to pass from check-in to boarding with facial recognition. At the Dubai Airshow we signed a strategic collaboration with OpenAI to push AI literacy and adoption across the business. Having said all that, technology will never replace the human touch for which Emirates is known. AI is there to support our people, not replace them. Q: What is Emirates doing to lead on accessibility and inclusion, and where does the wider industry still need to improve? Making travel more accessible is something we take seriously. In 2025, we set up a dedicated Office of Accessibility and Inclusion to coordinate programmes across our teams and partners worldwide. Today, we are the world’s first Autism Certified Airline, and more than 35,000 of our cabin crew
and ground staff have been trained in autism awareness. Before travel even begins, our Accessible & Inclusive Travel Hub gives passengers clear guidance by disability type and for each stage of the journey. We’ve also been running Travel Rehearsal programmes around our network. Working with airports and local partners, Travel Rehearsals help ease travel anxiety for children with autism and their families, and so far we have implemented this in more than 40 cities. At our Dubai hub, we’ve upgraded check-in kiosks with text-to-speech and braille and added wheelchair-accessible chauffeur vehicles. On board, we have introduced sensory products, a redesigned Business Class mattress, and tactile cabin-navigation technology for visually impaired passengers. Our inflight entertainment system offers hundreds of captioned and audio-described titles and hearing-aid compatible headphones. There’s still a long way to go, for us and for the industry. Real progress requires
Below: Starlink Wi-Fi is rolling out across the Emirates fleet
44 | ATM YEARBOOK 2026
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