Emirates airlines still in the running in the top ten airlines list in the world
Emirates is still in the list of the world’s top 10 airlines in terms of passenger traffic. More than 19 million passengers travelled in 2021. In the 2021 World Airline Passenger Rankings, published by aviation analytics company Cirium, the Dubai airline is ranked sixth.
In the past year, Emirates flew 19.6 million passengers throughout the globe. When compared to passenger counts in 2020, when the Covid-19 was at its peak and the travel disruption was at its worst, this is an increase of 199% in 2021 as per the stated reports.
According to revenue per kilometre, American Carriers lead the ranks of US airlines, which are headed by Delta, United, and Southwest. This is computed by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers on an aircraft by the distance travelled.
Ryanair is ranked sixth, while China Southern has jumped one spot ahead of Emirates. Based on statistics from more than 600 operators tracked through Cirium’s airline database, the ranking shows that, despite an increase since 2020, worldwide traffic finished 2021 down 57% from its pre-pandemic peak of 2.3 billion.
In comparison to its peak in 2019, Emirates had a 65% reduction in passenger counts. Was it because of the pandemic? Who knows!
Top 10 World Airline Passenger Rankings for 2021
- American Airlines
- Delta Airlines
- United Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- Ryanair Airlines
- China Southern Airlines
- Emirates Airline
- Qatar Airways
- China Eastern
- Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
Qatar Airways also maintained its status as one of the top ten airlines in terms of passenger traffic. The distance between Emirates and Qatar Airways was reduced in 2021, with the latter placed ninth, barely behind Dubai’s main carrier.
In 2019, the airline was ranked sixth, six places behind Emirates. China Eastern Airlines and Turkish Airlines complete the top ten list.
“The main standout was among Middle Eastern carriers, which saw 80% of traffic evaporate from their long-haul, and frequently highly linked, networks.” “Otherwise, traffic decreases were in the 60-70 percent range,” says Kevin O’Toole, Cirium’s chief strategy officer. Despite falling from fourth to seventh place, Emirates’ status in the world’s top ten is impressive given that the Covid-19 pandemic has had the greatest impact in the Middle East.