Eduardo Fairen, CEO of TAAG Angola, minced no words when he labelled the Gulf carriers as “threats to all African airlines on routes to Europe and Asia” in an interview with us last June. Despite being relatively young, Emirates (established in 1985) and Qatar Airways (launched in 1993) have cemented their positions as vital players in the global aviation landscape.
Emirates may be far from securing the top spot globally, with 43.6 million passengers transported in 2022, compared to American Airlines’ nearly 200 million passengers, but the gap is narrowing. It’s also closing in on Air France-KLM’s passenger numbers.
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