Emirates President Tim Clark has said he does not believe the Gulf region will lose appeal with travellers in the long term due to the war in Iran.
“People have short memories,” the airline boss told an industry gathering in Berlin via video link on Thursday.
“If your product and your brand is as strong as ours is and will continue to be, and as long as Dubai remains a city of enormous attraction for all sorts of people, then people will forget, providing that we get a resolution to the crisis, that there is a degree of stability and quiescence,” Clark said.
The US-Israeli war on Iran, which was launched on February 28, has wreaked havoc on global air traffic, with hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi particularly hard hit due to Iranian attacks on Gulf countries allied with the US.
Tens of thousands of people were initially left stranded in the region, and major airlines such as Emirates have since scrapped countless flights connecting Europe with Asia and Australia, forcing travellers to take long detours.
Despite an ongoing ceasefire in Iran, it remains unclear whether a negotiated long-term solution to the war is likely in the near future.
Meanwhile, fuel prices have been soaring due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and there are concerns over kerosene shortages in Europe.
However, Emirates boss Clark struck an optimistic note, predicting that if the situation calms within the next three to four weeks, flight traffic might be able to recover by the end of summer.