UAE airlines order 502 new aircraft at Dubai airshow

Dhaka: Aircraft orders at the Dubai Airshow 2025 continued to surge on the fourth day of the event, with total deals reaching 418 billion dirhams ($114 billion), following a 6.4 billion-dirham contract announcement by the UAE Ministry of Defence.

Orders from the UAE’s national carriers, including firm commitments and purchase options, have now surpassed 502 aircraft, making this one of the busiest editions in the show’s history.

Preliminary estimates indicate that cumulative orders recorded over the Dubai Airshow’s 30-year history, across 19 editions, have now exceeded $1 trillion (3.6 trillion dirhams).

Emirates led the commercial momentum with an order for 65 Boeing 777X aircraft, followed by a separate deal for eight Airbus A350s. 

Flydubai placed one of the show’s largest orders, committing to 75 Boeing aircraft with an additional 75 purchase options, alongside an agreement with Airbus for 250 aircraft, including 150 firm orders and 100 options. 

Etihad Airways signed for 32 new Airbus planes to expand its fleet.

By the end of Day 3, total commercial and defence deals had exceeded 411.6 billion dirhams, covering roughly 430 aircraft and 20 military contracts. 

Commercial orders alone reached 95 aircraft on Day 3, compared with 243 on Day 2 and 92 on Day 1.

-B