On September 1, 2025, Emirates, the world’s ‘largest international airline’, marked the silver jubilee of its air link with Chennai. What began on September 1, 2000, as an Airbus A310-300 174-seat service — four flights a week and the carrier’s third destination in India — has now expanded to a three flights a day, all-Boeing 777-300ER 400-plus seat service (currently, 21 flights a week). In October 1985, the airline launched its flights from Dubai to New Delhi and Mumbai, the foundation of its initial route network. It now flies to six more destinations —Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. In an exclusive e-mail interview with The Hindu, Mohammad Sarhan, Vice-President – India and Nepal, Emirates, said the airline continues to support Chennai’s expanding role in trade, technology, manufacturing and enterprise by offering the city’s travellers, seamless global connections through its hub in Dubai, and access to new markets. Mr. Sarhan said the airline remained hopeful that a review of the current bilateral air services agreement with India would allow the airline to better meet growing travel and cargo demand.
What are the milestones in the airline’s operations to Chennai? This is also a journey that would have run in parallel with the development of the city and its airport infrastructure.
Emirates celebrates 25 years of operations to Chennai this September, a journey that began on 1 September, 2000 and has evolved alongside the city’s rise as a major metropolitan hub of India. Over the years, demand for international connectivity from Chennai has grown steadily, driven by the city’s expanding role in trade, technology, manufacturing and enterprise. We have supported this growth by offering seamless global connections, enabling businesses to access new markets and providing travellers more choice and convenience.
As the city’s airport infrastructure developed and passenger expectations evolved, we were able to provide premium and luxury travel options to the city’s travellers. Our continuous investment in enhancing products and services has helped us retain customer loyalty in this competitive market. This commitment also ensured that we continue to play a meaningful role in Chennai’s growth story, connecting the city to the world with consistency and care.
Despite the growing demand for international travel across India, and our capacity to meet it, plans to expand services to new cities and airports remain on hold. Unlocking this potential will require policy support, especially through a revision of the bilateral air services agreement cap between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
What are the trends/data in passenger movement from the city? In this context, how does Chennai fare in comparison to the other ‘competitor airports’ in the southern region such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi? Has the growth of Bengaluru airport and its “better infrastructure” been a factor, especially as it is the only southern airport to have regular Airbus A380 operations?
Since launching services in September 2000, Emirates has carried over 10.7 million passengers between Dubai and Chennai on more than 38,000 flights in both directions. This highlights the city’s strong and resilient demand for international connectivity. Key outbound destinations from Chennai are San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Dallas, Boston, Seattle, Paris, London, Manchester, and Frankfurt. Emirates also supports strong inbound flows into Chennai from the same key markets, in addition to Kuwait, underscoring its role as a bridge for travel, trade, and cultural exchange.
Chennai continues to be an important market in southern India, supported by a healthy mix of business travellers, leisure seekers and significant visit friends and relatives (VFR) segment. While Bengaluru and Hyderabad have grown rapidly with newer infrastructure and added capacity, including Airbus A380 operations in Bengaluru, Chennai has retained its strength with a large outbound base, robust trade activity and a growing preference for premium travel. Emirates remains closely aligned with these needs, ensuring consistent connectivity and service for customers in the city.
What is the data in the context of regional trade, tourism, and economic growth?
Emirates continues to play a vital role in strengthening Chennai’s position on the global travel map. Through our extensive international network, we not only bring tourists from across the world to the city but also contribute meaningfully to the local economy by supporting hospitality, retail, and related industries. In addition, Emirates SkyCargo, our dedicated air freight division, serves as a crucial enabler for Tamil Nadu’s businesses and farmers by providing them access to international markets. In the last financial year, Emirates SkyCargo uplifted 19,300 tonnes of cargo from Chennai, consisting of fresh fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals and general cargo. From facilitating the export of perishable goods and agricultural produce to enabling local enterprises to reach new customers worldwide, we help drive trade, support livelihoods, and foster economic growth for the region.
What is the strategic importance of the Chennai-Dubai route and the passenger demography like? It is also a station that has budget carrier movement. How much of a factor has this been? The airline is also the sole widebody operator on this route.
The Chennai-Dubai route is strategically vital for Emirates as it acts as a key gateway linking South India to our global network. The passenger mix is diverse, ranging from business travellers and professionals working in the Middle East to leisure passengers and tourists connecting to long-haul destinations in North America and Europe. While Chennai is served with a number of low cost carriers, their services are largely focused on point-to-point travel. Emirates distinguishes itself by being the sole widebody operator on this route, offering greater comfort, cargo capacity, and, most importantly, seamless one-stop connectivity to cities across the United States, Europe, and beyond, through its hub in Dubai This combination of scale, service quality, and global reach makes our presence in Chennai uniquely valuable for both passengers and the local economy.
There has been a consistent demand made by the UAE for a liberal air services agreement. What are your views?
We recognise a strong and growing demand for air connectivity between India and the UAE, reflecting the deep economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties between the two countries. Emirates has always been committed to supporting this growth by offering world-class connectivity and enhancing trade and tourism links. We remain hopeful that a review of the current bilateral air services agreement between both countries will allow us to better meet the growing demand, benefiting travellers, businesses, and the wider economies of both nations.
What has the airline done in terms of customer experience, airport partnerships, and also service innovations? What about airline partnerships?
Emirates continues to elevate the end-to-end journey with refreshed cabins, an expanded ice (‘information, connectivity, and entertainment’) entertainment platform, intuitive digital touchpoints, and accessibility initiatives, alongside operational improvements that shorten connections and strengthen on-time performance. Recent First Class upgrades include a keepsake menu that showcases the provenance of exclusive wines with tasting profiles and pairings, elegant, engraved caviar serviceware by Robert Welch, and the newly unveiled ‘Emirates First’ check-in at Dubai T3 offering a refined, private, lounge-like arrival. As the world’s largest operator of international First Class, the experience includes private suites, Dom Pérignon, Bulgari amenity kits and Byredo skincare, lie-flat beds, Hydra Active pyjamas, Bowers and Wilkins headphones with award-winning entertainment, the A380 Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge, plus chauffeur-drive, white-glove dining, and access to 43 luxury lounges.
Business class enhancements complement this with fully lie-flat seats, aisle access at every seat on the Airbus A380, gourmet multi-course dining with wine pairings, priority airport services, and access to premium lounges — backed by meal pre-ordering and touches such as high-quality bedding and noise-reducing headsets. To reflect Chennai’s diverse clientele, regionally-inspired menus include authentic Tamil cuisine. Service innovations span Artificial Intelligence-enabled operational analytics, smarter disruption recovery, and streamlined check-in and document verification, improving reliability while maintaining high safety and service standards.
On partnerships, we have deepened commercial cooperation across codeshare and interline agreements to extend one-ticket connectivity and aligned baggage policies into secondary and leisure markets, complemented by a robust joint network with regional partners. We have built one of the industry’s most extensive partnership networks, with codeshare and interline agreements with various airlines and travel partners globally, including with carriers such as United, Air Canada, Qantas (Australia) and Korean Air.
Global connectivity from Chennai is a major factor, and in this, direct connectivity is key. There is also a move to reclaim ‘hub traffic’ from the UAE/Dubai back to India to funnel this through Delhi, Mumbai and even Bengaluru on an India-based fleet of new wide-body long-range aircraft, the reference being to Air India and Indigo and their fleet plans). How is the airline managing this? It is also competing with the other ‘Middle Eastern heavyweights’, namely Etihad, Qatar Airways, and now Riyadh Air, and their hub plans.
Emirates addresses this evolving landscape by prioritising what matters most to travellers from Chennai: reliable one-stop global reach via Dubai, broad schedules, and a consistently superior widebody experience connecting to long-haul destinations across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Our extensive network and partnerships enable seamless end-to-end journeys, while continued investment in amenities, network breadth, on-time performance, and strong safety standards sustains growing preference for our services. Together with Dubai’s prominence as a commercial and tourism hub, these strengths underpin our approach to competition and ensure resilient connectivity for Chennai.
What are the trends in cargo movement from the city? Pharma and electronic goods movements are important. The cargo hubs in Dubai have also been developed with the concept of a quick turnaround time. There is also a fairly strong movement of other cargo carriers that include the Chinese airlines.
Since inception, Emirates SkyCargo has been a facilitator for global trade. To and from Chennai, we operate 21 flights per week, enabling us to move cargo in the bellies of our passenger aircraft, and transport it to over 145 destinations worldwide, via Dubai. In the last financial year, we uplifted 19,300 tonnes of cargo from Chennai, consisting mostly of fresh fruit and vegetables, pharmaceuticals and general cargo; conversely, we imported 16,400-plus tonnes of predominately general cargo and mixed foodstuffs.
The airline has seen an expansive retrofit programme which has led to the recycling/upcycling of aircraft material. One such programme was the donation of school bags in north India. Are there any such plans for Chennai or Tamil Nadu?
In Noida, earlier this year, we donated 400 limited-edition backpacks to underprivileged schoolchildren through the Smile Foundation. These bags were handcrafted by Emirates Engineering using upcycled materials from retrofitted Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft. The airline also provided school stationery and basic hygiene supplies and distributed them as part of the airline’s wider sustainability and community initiatives.
The “Emirates Aircrafted KIDS” programme has already reached schools in several countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, including India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It was recently expanded to Egypt and 800 bags have been distributed up to August 1, 2025.
In Chennai, our commitment to the local community is reflected through the Emirates Airline Foundation’s partnership with the Community Health Education Society (CHES). Together, they established the Emirates-CHES Home, which provides a safe and secure environment for over 100 destitute children, including HIV-positive children abandoned in the city. The home ensures they receive the care, medical support, and dignity that they deserve.
What are the steps the airline has taken in the context of tackling the wildlife trade? Has there been any impact as there are cases of wildlife smuggling seizures at Chennai airport?
Emirates takes a strong stance against the illegal wildlife trade and has put in place robust measures across its global network. The airline enforces strict screening protocols, equips frontline staff with specialised training, and maintains a zero-tolerance policy on transporting banned species or hunting trophies. In 2023, Emirates became one of the few airlines to earn the IEnvA Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) module certification, endorsed by United for Wildlife.
On the ground, dnata [Dubai National Air Travel Agency, a global air and travel services provider] colleagues are trained in the International Air Transport Association’s Live Animal Regulations and Emirates’ internal policies, while a dedicated reporting channel empowers employees and partners to confidentially flag suspicious activity. Emirates also plays an active role in the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce, strengthening industry collaboration against trafficking.
