INDEX / DIRECTORY / EMIRATES

Emirates

Airlines 130 CITED SOURCES UPDATED 2026-08-28
BDS-1000 Score 564 /1000 C Tier C - High

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BDS-1000 Dossier: Emirates

Key Findings

  • Economic/Aviation: Emirates has no active passenger service to Israel - the June 2022 Dubai–Tel Aviv route was suspended in October 2023 and permanently terminated by November 2025, though Israeli officials were still courting Emirates’ return with incentive offers as of mid-2026.123
  • Aerospace Manufacturing Nexus: Emirates holds an ongoing, expanding contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a wholly Israeli state-owned defence prime, to convert Emirates’ own Boeing 777-300ER fleet into freighters; the first converted, Emirates-owned aircraft was physically converted at IAI’s home facility in Lod, Israel, and entered commercial service in June 2026.456
  • Kosher Catering Sourcing: Emirates Flight Catering’s 2020 “Kosher Arabia” joint venture reportedly sources unspecified additional goods “from Israel” to meet kosher-certification requirements, though this claim is unconfirmed for any period after 2021.78
  • Not found: No public evidence identified of any Emirates military, weapons, surveillance, or intelligence-technology contract with Israeli defence, security, or intelligence bodies, and no settlement-linked construction, land, or infrastructure nexus was identified.

Target Profile

FieldDetail
Company NameEmirates (Emirates airline / The Emirates Group)
JurisdictionDubai, United Arab Emirates
HeadquartersEmirates Group Headquarters, Dubai International Airport, Dubai, UAE
SectorCommercial passenger and cargo aviation; ground handling and catering (via dnata/Emirates Flight Catering)
Ownership100% owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the Government of Dubai’s sovereign investment arm; ICD also separately holds ~40.92% of Emirates NBD (bank) and 100% of flydubai, both legally distinct sibling entities910
Key Executives / GovernanceChairman & CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (since 1985), who simultaneously chairs Dubai Holding, Emirates NBD, and multiple Dubai state bodies; President Tim Clark; no conventional independent board - control rests with 100% ICD ownership911
Israeli-Nexus SummaryNo military, digital, or settlement-infrastructure nexus identified; documented economic/political nexus consists of a defence-prime aircraft-conversion services contract (IAI), a lapsed Tel Aviv passenger route, and a kosher-catering joint venture with reported but unconfirmed Israeli sourcing

Key Facts:

Executive Summary

Emirates is the wholly state-owned flag carrier of Dubai, controlled entirely by the Investment Corporation of Dubai. Its documented relationship with Israel is narrow, commercial, and largely post-Abraham Accords in origin: a now-lapsed passenger route, a civil-aviation manufacturing-services contract with an Israeli state defence prime, and an unconfirmed kosher-catering sourcing arrangement. No public evidence identified links Emirates to weapons supply, military logistics, surveillance technology, or settlement construction.

The single most consequential documented vector is Emirates’ contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to convert Emirates-owned Boeing 777-300ER passenger jets into freighters under IAI’s “Big Twin” programme, signed at the November 2021 Dubai Airshow.45 This relationship has expanded rather than contracted since the 19 July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion and the November 2024 ICC arrest warrants, and the first Emirates-owned, Emirates-liveried aircraft to complete conversion - registration A6-EBK - was physically converted at IAI’s own facility in Lod, Israel, before re-entering commercial service in June 2026.614 This is a civil MRO/manufacturing-services contract, not a weapons transaction, and no public evidence identified ties the conversion work to any military end-use; nonetheless it represents Emirates’ most direct and geographically proximate documented link to Israeli soil and to an Israeli defence-industrial entity.

Economically, Emirates’ Israel exposure otherwise consists of a lapsed Tel Aviv passenger route (launched June 2022, suspended October 2023, terminated by November 2025, with Israeli authorities still attempting to lure Emirates back with incentive offers through mid-2026) and a 2020 kosher-catering joint venture, “Kosher Arabia,” between Emirates Flight Catering and CCL Holdings, whose management reportedly stated in 2021 that unspecified additional goods were sourced “from Israel” - a claim that remains unconfirmed for any period since.12378 Politically, Emirates has issued no independent statement of position on the Gaza war, framing its 2023 route suspension purely in safety terms, in explicit contrast to its defended continuity policy toward Russia after 2022.1516 Sibling entity flydubai, by contrast, never suspended Tel Aviv service and expanded it through 2025, a divergence Israeli media characterised as “a political and economic statement” - but this is flydubai’s conduct, a separate ICD-owned carrier, not Emirates’.17

What is not supported by evidence is equally significant. No public evidence identified of any Emirates weapons, military-platform, surveillance, biometric, or intelligence-technology contract with Israeli state, military, or security bodies; no settlement-linked construction, land, or infrastructure nexus; and no Israeli-origin technology vendor in Emirates’ documented Microsoft/AWS-centric IT stack. Several recurring name-conflation traps - EDGE Group, Elbit Systems Emirates, Emirates-Israel Investments Group, and Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) - were investigated and affirmatively excluded as unrelated to Emirates airline.

These findings produce a BDS-1000 score of BRS 564, Tier C (High): a moderate-to-elevated composite driven almost entirely by the Economic and Political domains (V=4.00 and V=6.50 respectively), against a Military and Digital score of 0.00 in both domains - reflecting a documented commercial and political nexus without any identified military or digital-surveillance dimension.

Timeline of Relevant Events

DateEvent
2006 (29 Dec)Emirates ownership formally transferred to the Investment Corporation of Dubai by ruler’s decree918
Aug 2020UAE repeals its economic boycott of Israel under the Abraham Accords1920
Sept 2020Emirates Flight Catering signs MoU with CCL Holdings to form “Kosher Arabia” kosher-meals joint venture7
Sept 2020Emirates NBD signs MoU with Bank Hapoalim; FAB/Emirates NBD sign parallel MoU with Bank Leumi (no disclosed transactions followed)2122
Jan 2021dnata’s “marhaba” brand partners with Israel-based Laufer Aviation-GHI for Tel Aviv meet-and-assist services23
Nov 2021IAI and Emirates sign passenger-to-freighter (P2F) 777-300ER conversion agreement at the Dubai Airshow45
June 2022Emirates launches first scheduled Dubai–Tel Aviv passenger service1
2023Route scaled to three-times-daily service24
12 Oct 2023Emirates suspends all Tel Aviv flights amid the Gaza war; suspension repeatedly extended225
Aug 2024IAI announces expansion of the conversion arrangement, adding a further Abu Dhabi facility for up to ten Emirates 777s6
2025IAI receives FAA and Israel CAA STC certification for the 777-300ER P2F conversion26
Nov 2025Emirates formally removes Tel Aviv from its route map; Israeli Transport Ministry meets Emirates officials, floats Q1 2026 resumption327
Jan 2025EDGE Group (separate UAE state defence conglomerate, unrelated to Emirates) acquires 30% of Israeli firm ThirdEye Systems28
Feb 2026Bloomberg reports Emirates “preparing to resume” Tel Aviv flights (status remains unresolved)29
30 June 2026First IAI-converted, Emirates-owned freighter (A6-EBK), converted at IAI’s Lod, Israel facility, enters commercial service Dubai–Hong Kong14

Corporate Overview

Emirates is a Dubai-headquartered airline group wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the Government of Dubai’s sovereign investment vehicle established under Dubai Law No. 11 of 2006.918 Emirates has no independent board of directors in the conventional public-company sense; ultimate control rests entirely with ICD, and Chairman/CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum simultaneously holds senior positions across the Dubai state apparatus, including Chairman of Dubai Holding, Chairman of Emirates NBD, and President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.11 dnata is the Emirates Group’s ground-services and catering subsidiary; Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) is a separate wholly owned catering subsidiary responsible for the Kosher Arabia venture.7

Two ICD-owned sibling entities are frequently but incorrectly conflated with Emirates: Emirates NBD (a bank, ~40.92% ICD-owned) and flydubai (a distinct carrier, 100% ICD-owned, chaired by the same individual as Emirates but operationally and legally separate).910 flydubai continued and expanded Tel Aviv service throughout the period Emirates suspended its own route - a divergence attributable to flydubai, not to Emirates.17 Several additional entities sharing the “Emirates” name were investigated and excluded from this dossier as unconnected to Emirates airline: EDGE Group and Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC), Abu Dhabi state defence entities under Mubadala/Tawazun ownership; Elbit Systems Emirates (ESE), an Elbit-owned UAE subsidiary; Emirates-Israel Investments Group (EIIG), a private investment-matching platform; and Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&/Etisalat), an unrelated telecom operator that appears on at least one third-party exclusion list under a similarly worded name.303132

Domain Summaries

Military: Military

Mechanism of Involvement

No public evidence identified of any weapons, munitions, armoured-vehicle, or military-platform contract between Emirates and Israeli military, defence, or prison-service bodies. Emirates’ sole documented Israeli defence-sector relationship is a civil aircraft manufacturing-services contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for passenger-to-freighter conversion of Emirates-owned Boeing 777-300ERs, signed November 2021 and expanded in August 2024.456 The first Emirates-owned aircraft converted under this programme was physically converted at IAI’s facility in Lod, Israel, and re-entered commercial service in June 2026 - a more direct geographic nexus with Israeli defence-industrial infrastructure than earlier Abu Dhabi-facility characterisations suggested.14 Order-size reporting is only partially reconciled: most sources describe a ten-aircraft order, while one FlightGlobal headline references “the first of five,” a discrepancy that remains unresolved.614

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

This is a civil MRO/manufacturing-services transaction for cargo-conversion, not a weapons or military-platform deal, and no public evidence identified ties the conversion work itself to military end-use. No public evidence identified of NGO or BDS campaigns specifically targeting the Emirates–IAI relationship; a targeted settlement-nexus check likewise found no evidence of Emirates involvement in settlement, checkpoint, or barrier-related construction or demolition. dnata does not operate ground handling directly at Ben Gurion Airport, and its documented Israel-linked partnership (marhaba/Laufer Aviation-GHI) is a civilian VIP meet-and-assist service. An August 2025 UAE-to-Israel arms shipment via Ramon Airport involved a UAE state/military aircraft, not Emirates.33

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) - verified, ongoing conversion contract.45614 EDGE Group, EDIC, Elbit Systems Emirates, and Emirates-Israel Investments Group - investigated and excluded as unrelated entities.303132 No public evidence identified of personal defence-industry ties for Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum or Tim Clark.

Digital: Digital

Mechanism of Involvement

Emirates’ enterprise IT stack is documented as Microsoft-centric (Microsoft 365, Teams, Azure, Power BI, Conditional Access/MFA) with a parallel AWS partnership for immersive/AI initiatives; no Israeli-origin vendor appears in either primary case study.1213 Emirates’ biometric “Smart Tunnel” and 2025 AED 85 million facial/iris-recognition deployment at Dubai Terminal 3 use named vendors emaratech and Vision-Box; Vision-Box is Lisbon-headquartered and was acquired by Spain’s Amadeus in 2024 - not Israeli-origin.343536

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of Emirates holding a licensing or subscription relationship with Check Point, Wiz, CyberArk, SentinelOne, NICE, Verint, Claroty, or Palo Alto Networks. A Wiz customer reference naming an “Emirates” CISO refers to Emirates NBD (the bank), a legally distinct entity, not Emirates airline. Mercator, Emirates Group’s former reservation-software subsidiary, was divested to Warburg Pincus in 2019.37 No public evidence identified of Emirates operating or leasing data-centre infrastructure in Israel, participating in Project Nimbus, or hosting workloads in an Israel-based cloud region. DAWN’s investigation into Israel-UAE surveillance-technology transfer names NSO Group, DarkMatter, and Unit 8200 but not Emirates.38

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Microsoft, AWS - verified vendors, non-Israeli.1213 emaratech, Vision-Box/Amadeus - verified biometric vendors, non-Israeli.343536 Check Point, Wiz - active in the UAE market broadly but no confirmed Emirates-airline relationship.39

Economic: Economic

Mechanism of Involvement

Emirates’ clearest documented economic sourcing link runs through Emirates Flight Catering’s “Kosher Arabia” joint venture with CCL Holdings (September 2020 MoU), producing kosher in-flight meals at a Dubai World Central facility; December 2021 reporting indicated management stated unspecified additional goods were sourced “from Israel” to meet kosher-certification requirements, though this claim’s current status is unconfirmed.78 Emirates launched Dubai–Tel Aviv passenger service in June 2022, suspended it in October 2023, and the route was permanently terminated by November 2025, notwithstanding continued Israeli efforts (including a May 2026 seventh-freedom rights offer) to induce Emirates’ return.12340 Sibling entities Emirates NBD and FAB signed MoUs with Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi respectively in September 2020, with no disclosed transactions identified as having followed.2122

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

Emirates holds no direct capital investments, factories, or real estate in Israel; its only physical Israel asset was a Tel Aviv ticket office linked to the now-terminated route. No Israel-specific revenue segment appears in Emirates’ FY2024-25 results (record AED 22.7 billion pre-tax profit), and no public evidence identified characterises Emirates as an economic anchor within Israel. flydubai - not Emirates - continued and expanded Tel Aviv operations after October 2023, a divergence Israeli media called “a political and economic statement,” but this is not attributable to Emirates.17 DP World’s Haifa port bid and the UAE government’s $5 million UNRWA pledge are separate Dubai/UAE entities, not Emirates.4142

Named Entities and Evidence Map

CCL Holdings/Kosher Arabia - verified joint venture, sourcing claim unconfirmed post-2021.78 Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi - MoU counterparties via Emirates NBD/FAB, no disclosed follow-through.2122 flydubai, DP World - verified as separate entities, excluded from Emirates attribution.

Political: Political

Mechanism of Involvement

Emirates issued no independent political or humanitarian statement on the Gaza war; its only public commentary framed the October 2023 route suspension around passenger/crew safety, and Chairman Sheikh Ahmed’s sole public remark was commercial in nature (“a small impact” on business).1543 This contrasts with Emirates’ explicitly defended continuity policy toward Russia after 2022, where President Tim Clark argued against “conflating people and government decisions.”16 Emirates is Title Sponsor of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which BDS Movement/PACBI called to boycott in both 2022 and 2026, citing UAE state complicity in rights violations in Palestine and Sudan; the festival proceeded in both years, though author Rebecca F. Kuang withdrew in 2025–26 citing primarily Sudan-related conduct.444546 As of 2026, Israel’s Transport Ministry has offered Emirates unprecedented “seventh freedom” route rights and subsidized flydubai basing at Eilat specifically to induce Emirates’ return to the Israeli market.40

Counter-Arguments and Evidence Limits

No public evidence identified of Emirates corporate donations to the IDF, FIDF, JNF/KKL, or settlement-linked organisations. No public evidence identified of Emirates executives holding roles in pro-Israel advocacy or anti-BDS bodies. Emirates Foundation’s Gaza-directed “Takatof” donation drive channelled contributions to the Emirates Red Crescent Authority - humanitarian aid to Gaza, not military-welfare financing on either side. UAE government bodies (distinct from Emirates airline) conducted substantial Gaza aid operations and separately declined to fund the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation initiative - state, not airline, decisions.4748 Emirates’ $160,000 in 2024 U.S. federal lobbying spend could not be confirmed as pertaining to any Israel-related issue.49 An “Emirates Leaks” claim of unnamed “Emirates officials” backing Israel could not be cross-verified against a primary source and is treated as unresolved, low-reliability material rather than established fact.

Named Entities and Evidence Map

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum - Chairman/CEO, sole public commercial remark on the conflict, no ideological statement identified.43 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature - verified BDS/PACBI boycott target, sponsorship maintained.4445 Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) - verified as a separate entity excluded from KLP pension-fund exclusion attribution.50

BDS-1000 Score (V4)

DomainIMPV-Domain Score
Military0.000.000.000.00
Digital0.000.000.000.00
Economic4.007.007.504.00
Political6.507.007.806.50

The composite score is driven entirely by Political (V=6.50), reflecting Emirates’ documented - if state-deferential and commercially framed - political proximity to Israel (the IAI relationship’s political symbolism, the lapsed Tel Aviv route, and sponsorship of a BDS-targeted cultural event), moderated by a fully corroborated absence of any military or digital-surveillance nexus (Military and Digital both 0.00). The Economic score (4.00) captures the unresolved Kosher Arabia sourcing claim and the IAI conversion-services relationship’s commercial dimension. Scores follow the scale-free Impact × Magnitude/Proximity method applied uniformly across the four domain audits, human-vetted for evidentiary sufficiency.

Methodology Note

Footnotes

  1. https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-arrives-in-tel-aviv/ 2 3 4 5

  2. https://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/emirates-extends-tel-aviv-flight-suspension-amid-israel-hamas-war-1.1698251635832 2 3 4 5

  3. https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2025/11/18/emirates-terminates-all-flights-to-tel-aviv/ 2 3 4

  4. https://www.timesofisrael.com/iai-signs-deal-with-emirates-airline-to-convert-passenger-aircraft-to-cargo/ 2 3 4 5 6

  5. https://www.flightglobal.com/dubai-2021/emirates-picks-israels-iai-to-convert-777s-to-freighters-and-adds-more-777fs/146412.article 2 3 4 5 6

  6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-12/israel-aerospace-to-convert-emirates-planes-in-mideast-expansion 2 3 4 5 6

  7. https://www.theemiratesgroup.com/media-centre/emirates-flight-catering-signs-mou-to-form-kosher-arabia/ 2 3 4 5 6

  8. https://thepointsguy.com/news/inflight-meals-kosher-kitchen-dubai/ 2 3 4

  9. https://icd.gov.ae/portfolio/emirates/ 2 3 4 5

  10. https://icd.gov.ae/portfolio/fly-dubai/ 2

  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_bin_Saeed_Al_Maktoum 2

  12. https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1429066738321808673-emirates-group-en-united-arab-emirates 2 3

  13. https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/game-on-emirates-group-and-aws-team-up-to-craft-an-immersive-digital-world/ 2 3

  14. https://www.aircargonews.net/editorial/2026/06/emirates-skycargo-takes-delivery-of-first-converted-freighter-as-fleet-continues-to-grow/ 2 3 4 5

  15. https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/aviation/israel-palestine-conflict-emirates-suspends-all-flights-to-tel-aviv-until-october-20 2

  16. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/10/emirates-ceo-defends-continued-russia-flights-says-no-ban-from-uae-.html 2

  17. https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-most-airlines-avoid-israel-emirati-carriers-keep-up-flights-for-diplomacy-profit/ 2 3

  18. https://www.meed.com/investment-corporation-of-dubai-takes-ownership-of-emirates-airlines 2

  19. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=3913a0e3-524c-445d-8aee-02e1d88e1ee2

  20. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/8/29/uae-scraps-israel-economic-boycott-after-us-brokered-deal

  21. https://gulfnews.com/business/banking/uaes-emirates-nbd-signs-mou-with-israels-bank-hapoalim-1.73854040 2 3

  22. https://gulfnews.com/business/banking/leading-uae-banks-fab-and-emirates-nbd-sign-co-operation-agreement-with-israels-bank-leumi-1.73876795 2 3

  23. https://www.dnata.com/media-centre/marhaba-adds-tel-aviv-meet - assist-services-to-global-offering-through-partnership-with-laufer-aviation-ghi/

  24. https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-most-airlines-avoid-israel-emirati-carriers-keep-up-flights-for-diplomacy-profit/

  25. https://gulfnews.com/business/aviation/israel-hamas-war-dubais-emirates-extends-flight-cancellations-to-tel-aviv-until-october-26-1.1697627584233

  26. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Aerospace_Industries

  27. https://www.jpost.com/travel/article-875063

  28. (Military domain audit - EDGE Group/ThirdEye Systems acquisition; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes)

  29. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-02/emirates-prepares-to-resume-israel-flights-after-two-year-pause

  30. (Military domain audit - EDGE Group, EDIC, Elbit Systems Emirates scope-boundary exclusions; source URLs not provided in domain audit end notes) 2

  31. (Military domain audit - Emirates-Israel Investments Group scope-boundary exclusion; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes) 2

  32. https://www.klp.no/en/corporate-responsibility-and-responsible-investments/exclusion-and-dialogue 2

  33. (Military domain audit - August 2025 Al Dhafra–Ramon Airport Il-76TD shipment; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes)

  34. https://www.biometricupdate.com/202511/emirates-unveils-23m-facial-recognition-deployment-with-200-cameras-at-dubai-intl 2

  35. https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/speedy-seamless-secure - emirates-invests-in-innovative-facial-recognition-technology-across-dubai-international-dxb/ 2

  36. https://www.vision-box.com/about-us 2

  37. https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/warburg-pincus-buys-dubai-based-aviation-it-firm-mercator-from-dnata-1.305727

  38. https://dawnmena.org/the-outsized-role-of-surveillance-technology-in-the-israel-uae-abraham-accords/

  39. https://www.wiz.io/blog/wiz-launches-data-center-in-uae

  40. https://simpleflying.com/israel-emirates-tel-aviv-new-york-seventh-freedom/ 2

  41. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/9/16/dubais-dp-world-and-israeli-group-to-jointly-bid-for-haifa-port

  42. https://www.timesofisrael.com/emirates-announces-5-million-to-beleaguered-unrwa-for-gaza-reconstruction/

  43. https://www.zawya.com/en/world/middle-east/sheikh-ahmed-says-emirates-has-seen-impact-of-israel-gaza-war-maintains-strong-outlook-kokjmlag 2

  44. https://bdsmovement.net/news/boycott-emirates-airline-festival-literature-2022 2

  45. https://bdsmovement.net/news/Boycott/Emirates/Airline/Festival/of/Literature/2026 2

  46. https://www.thebookseller.com/news/rebecca-f-kuang-pulls-out-of-emirates-airlines-festival-of-literature-as-bds-calls-for-uae-boycott

  47. (Political domain audit - Emirates Foundation “Takatof” Gaza donation drive via Emirates Red Crescent Authority; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes)

  48. (Political domain audit - UAE decline of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation funding request; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes)

  49. (Political domain audit - OpenSecrets 2024 federal lobbying disclosure; source URL not provided in domain audit end notes)

  50. https://www.klp.no/en/corporate-responsibility-and-responsible-investments/exclusion-and-dialogue