Emirates appoints Emiratis to vital management roles

Airline places nationals in key commercial and cargo positions as the carrier looks to enhance its regional operations and boost performance.

Emirates has appointed three UAE nationals to key cargo and commercial roles. Courtesy Emirates Group

Emirates has appointed three expert Emiratis to key management positions within its commercial and cargo operations team in the Middle East.

The changes place UAE home-grown talent in roles that will enhance the airline’s commercial and cargooperations, the airline said. All of the appointments will be effective from June 1.

“The Middle East’s market dynamics continually present us with unique challenges and opportunities,” said Thierry Antinori, the executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Emirates: “All three UAE nationals who will be taking on new roles have a deep understanding of the business and operations at Emirates, from both the passenger and cargo side. We believe that this will strengthen our leadership team and will deliver significant benefits to maximise our commercial performance in the region.”

In the UAE, Emirates has appointed Abbas Haji as the vice president of hub operations for SkyCargo, Emirates’ freight arm. In his new role, Mr Abbas will be managing SkyCargo’s hub operations in Dubai at both Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai International Airport.

Mr Haji joined the Emirates Group in 1977, working for dnata Cargo and has held several positions across the group since then. Among these, he was vice president for Iran, Iraq and Central Asia, running the airline’s commercial operations activities in multiple markets.

Mohamed Khoory, meanwhile, will be taking on the role of manager for Iran. Mr Khoory joined Emirates in 2011 as part of the UAE national management programme for commercial operations. He held commercial support roles in India and the United States before becoming the district manager in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. More recently, he held the role of manager for Jordan and West Bank, heading the market’s commercial and business development activities.

In Jordan, Emirates has appointed Sultan Alriyami to drive its commercial priorities in the market as well as build on the airline’s business performance as the manager for Jordan and West Bank. Mr Alriyami joined Emirates in 2014 as part of the UAE national trainee management programme for commercial operations. Since then, he has held commercial support roles in Singapore and, more recently, in Iran.

Emirates’ operations in the Middle East market continue to grow with the region witnessing a 3.6 per cent increase in revenue in 2016/2017 over the previous financial year. Emirates SkyCargo carried 2.6 million tonnes in the past financial year, and is the world’s largest international cargo airline.

From Dubai, Emirates has a total of 330 passenger flights per week into 14 Middle East destinations in nine countries.

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