“Establishing an airline in Dubai has been a dream for over 40 years,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said in a post on X.
He talked about how people have “gambled” on the dream of establishing an airline in the Emirates. He reflected on his various successes, teaching us the lesson that with determination and willpower, we can achieve anything we set our minds to.
He recalled his early days meeting with Emirates Group executives.
A few years after the airport was established, Sheikh Mohammed was entrusted with leading the airport’s development by his father, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former ruler of Dubai.
There were some groundbreaking first steps, such as the launch of Dubai’s first tourism strategy and the decision to take Emirates private, unlike any other Arab airline.
In 1984, Sheikh Mohammed invited the Emirates’ Director General of Aviation, Maurice Flanagan, to his office and the ball started rolling.
From the day of the decision to take the airline private, they were given six months to lease aircraft, equip them and launch Emirates.
The Dubai ruler recalled how excited he and his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, were, despite the fatigue and the “stress of getting a new airline up and running on time.”
Looking back on Emirates’ remarkable progress from its early days to the thriving business it is today, Sheikh Mohammed said: “Don’t let anyone come between you and your dreams.
Watch the video shared by Sheikh Mohammed below: 1 billion dirhams,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
He stressed that the dream is not over and goals still need to be achieved: expanding operations, opening a major international airport and serving cities on all five continents.
Sheikh Mohammed stressed that Dubai is now “the world’s airport and the meeting place of mankind.”