On the occasion of World Pilots’ Day, that was celebrated on April 26, Emirates saluted its highly skilled aviators for their contributions to global travel and the airline’s business, while continuing to recruit first officers and seasoned captains.

When Emirates launched its services in 1985, the airline’s pilots then were part of the two wet-leased aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. Fast forward to today and the airline boasts almost 4,000 pilots from 111 nationalities, of which 400 are proud Emirati nationals. The first Emirati cadet pilot joined in 1986 and retired as captain after a fruitful career of 20 years.

Many pilots have grown with the airline. Inspiringly, Emirates has 1,380 pilots who have been working at the airline for 10-19 years, 173 who’ve served for between 20-29 years, and five who have completed 30 years. Emirates’ two longest serving pilots, with over 34 years of service, joined the airline on the same day in 1989.

As travel demand surges, the airline strengthens its network and prepares to take delivery of its Airbus A350s from mid-2024, Emirates continues to grow its pilot community with upcoming recruitment drives.

Since the start of 2022, the airline has welcomed over 900 new pilots on its three recruitment programmes – direct entry captains, accelerated command and first officers. After a successful pilot recruitment roadshow in Hong Kong and Singapore through March and April, next on the pilot recruitment agenda is an online information session on Wednesday, May 10, at 1pm, Dubai time (11am local time).

Interested pilots, who would like to learn more about the various flight deck roles, should register on https://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/pilots/ and can get more information on entry requirements on https://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/search-and-apply/?jobcategory=Flight%20Deck.