“Establishing an airline company in Dubai was a dream more than 4 decades ago,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai said in a post on X.
Sheikh Mohammed talked about how people “bet against” the dream of establishing an airline in the emirate. He looked back on different achievements, and shared a lesson on how determination and will enables you to achieve anything one imagines.
He recollected the early days, as he met with a group of leaders from the Emirates Airlines Group.
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A few years after the establishment of the airport, Sheikh Mohammed was tasked with leading its development by his father, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai.
There were various landmark first steps, including launching the first tourist strategy in Dubai, and deciding to have private ownership of Emirates, unlike airlines of all other Arab countries.
In 1984, Sheikh Mohammed invited the director of the airline services company in the emirate, Maurice Flanagan, to his office, and the ball was in motion.
From the date of taking the decision to run the airline privately, they had 6 months to lease aircraft, re-equip them, and launch Emirates.
The Dubai Ruler recalled how he and his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, were very excited despite the exhaustion and “stress of bringing the new airline into operation on schedule.”
Looking back at the immense progress between the early days and the thriving company that Emirates is now, Sheikh Mohammed shared: “Do not allow anyone to stand between you and your dreams.”
Watch below, a video Sheikh Mohammed shared on X:
From a mere dream 4 decades ago, the airline now “includes 112 thousand employees, connects us with 277 cities, transports more than 50 million passengers annually, and generates revenues exceeding Dh137 billion annually,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
He emphasised that the dream has not stopped, and the aims of expanding the business, opening a larger international airport, and reaching every city on the five continents, remains to be fulfilled.
Sheikh Mohammed highlighted that Dubai has now become “the world’s airport, a meeting place for humanity.”