Emirates’ Tim Clark upbeat about airline industry's long-term future

The Emirates airline president said it was important that people were talking about green aviation technologies

Major development in air travel including green technology is still possible despite the devastating industry shocks caused by Covid-19 and the two recent fatal accidents involving Boeing 737 Max planes, Emirates president Tim Clark said on Wednesday.

While conceding that the short-term outlook was not good and that the industry needed time to recover, he pointed to signs a Covid-19 vaccine could be on the horizon as evidence that much could be achieved by the brain “when it really needs to put its mind to it”.

Mr Clark was speaking during a webinar at the virtual Farnborough Airshow, which was moved online after the UK event was cancelled amid the pandemic.

“I always remain optimistic that we have the capability, we have the creativity, we have the intellectual powers to come and address and produce aircraft that in 50 years’ time will shock and stun us,” he said.

“I really believe, give it three or four years - let’s have a look at how we go about dealing with the environmental aspect, which is a really good thing to happen to all of us because it’s making us really think hard about what we need to do.”

“It’s a bit like this development of the vaccine for Covid-19. It’s accelerated at such a pace.”

While its full roster of summer flights has not quite returned, Emirates is still set to fly to 60 destinations this summer.

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  Emirates resumes flights today to nine destinations. The Dubai airline has announced a range of upgraded health and safety procedures for flights to protect travellers during the pandemic. Courtesy Dirk Grothe

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  Protective barriers have been installed at Dubai International Airport at each check-in desk and immigration counter to provide additional safety reassurance to passengers and employees during interaction over the counter. Courtesy Emirates

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  Emirates has introduced complimentary hygiene kits to be given to every passenger upon check in at Dubai International Airport and on flights to Dubai. These kits comprise of masks, gloves, antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser. Courtesy Emirates

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  The gloves and face masks must be worn throughout the airport and face masks are compulsory on all Emirates flights.

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  Emirates has added a cabin service assistant to flights with a journey time of more than 90 minutes. This crew member will ensure lavatories are cleaned at frequent intervals of 45 mins. Courtesy Emirates