Big bucks for Gulf carriers despite Iran war

The figures come amid the continuing uncertainty surrounding the Persian Gulf amid the Iran conflict, which has slashed traffic through the Middle East by around 60 per cent, according to data released by IATA in April. Australia-Middle East traffic is down around 70 per cent year on year.

Announcing the results, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and Group, said the picture across the group had been “very positive” for the first 11 months of the financial year.

“Strong demand for our products and services was driving revenue, and we were achieving healthy margins thanks to our sustained investments in product, people, technology and brand. Month after month, we were surpassing our targets,” he said.

“On 28 February, military activity massively disrupted global commercial air traffic in the Gulf region, including in the UAE. Emirates and dnata quickly mobilised to support our people and affected customers, protect our assets, and ensure business continuity.

“We are fortunate to be based in Dubai, where years of infrastructure investments and a cohesive aviation ecosystem has enabled the government to quickly secure safe corridors for commercial flights. Emirates and dnata have since gradually restored operations at DXB.

“Although we are still operating at a lower passenger capacity than pre-disruption, cargo operations have ramped up to support the movement of essential goods into and through the UAE.”

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For Qatar Airways’ part, its group chief executive Hamad Al-Khater said the financial year had demanded the airline “demonstrate both the best of what it can achieve and the depth of what it can withstand”.

“These results speak to the strength of this Group across every measure that matters — a strong balance sheet, industry-leading operations, partnerships of real depth, and people who maintained the standards this Group is known for, even under the most demanding conditions,” he said.

“Behind every result are 57,800 people, working across more than 90 countries. In the final weeks of the financial year, many of them were managing an active crisis with a standard of professionalism that defines this organisation as much as any financial metric, and it deserves to be recognised.

“We are actively rebuilding our global network with the confidence that comes from a balance sheet that has never been stronger, partnerships that proved their depth when we needed them most, and an organisation that has demonstrated, under genuine pressure, exactly what it is capable of.”

Etihad posted financial results for the full year of 2025 in late February, before the outbreak of the Iran war, turning in a profit of US$698 million ($977 million).