Emirates orders 5 more Boeing 777 freighters

Emirates, a flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one of the world's largest cargo carriers, announced Monday an order of five additional Boeing 777 freighters (B777Fs) to be delivered between 2025-2026, reported Xinhua.

"Together with its previous orders, Emirates now has 14 Boeing 777Fs pending delivery from Boeing from now until end 2026," the carrier said in a press release.

The company said it has also signed a multi-year lease extension with global aviation services company Dubai Aerospace Enterprise for four B777Fs that it already operates.

Based on these deals, Emirates' cargo arm SkyCargo expects to operate a fleet of 21 production-built B777Fs by December 2026, significantly expanding its current fleet of 11 units, the company said.

"Emirates also remains invested in converting 10 passenger Boeing 777-3000ERs into freighters for further capacity and fleet growth," it added.

The investments aim to meet surging demand and provide global customers with "more flexibility, connectivity, and options to leverage market opportunity," said the company.

They align with Dubai's plans to expand Al Maktoum International Airport, the emirate's newest airport, to "create the world's largest hub in terms of capacity," which will "ultimately be able to process 12 million tonnes of cargo annually," it added.