Dubai: Emirates uses AI-powered engine monitoring to cut costly flight diversions
Dubai's flagship carrier Emirates is tapping into the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to help the airline enhance flight safety, monitor engine health in real time, and reduce costly flight diversions, a senior official revealed.
'We're using AI to predict the turbulence en route from one destination to another. Using AI is not only for the benefit of the company but also for enhancing the safety of operations.
"We are able to use AI to predict the health of the engine, and how it is performing, and that helped us a number of times to avoid diversions of an aircraft because we were able to continue operating that aircraft for the specific diagnosis and live monitoring it,' said Adel Al Redha, deputy president and chief operations officer of Emirates.
He was speaking during the ForsaTek 2025 exhibition and conference last week. The event featured over 40 in-house and partner showcases, strategically organised across the innovation pipeline spectrum, from early-stage research and prototyping to proof-of-concept trials, and fully launched initiatives being scaled up.
AI adoption is on the rise across all industries, and airlines are no exception. From improving operational efficiency to enhancing customer service, companies are exploring new ways to harness data and automation.
Looking ahead, Al Redha stressed the importance of strengthening real-time data capabilities to further improve services. For example, he said accurate data can help airlines load the right quantity of food on board — preventing waste and saving millions of dirhams annually.
On the use of passenger data, Al Redha reassured that Emirates is aligned with government regulations. He noted that the airline is already taking steps to regulate and govern the use of public data.
'The more we rely on technology, the higher the level of cybersecurity we need to invest in and ensure that we are safeguarding the operations,' he added.
As the technology advances, Al Redha noted that the company will upscale its staff as the airline will increasingly adopt generative artificial intelligence (AI).
'We're going to rely on generative AI. That's going to make some of our jobs easier and information much more faster accessible. Some of the people may not be up to the same level of skill as others. We will have to examine certain staff level skills, and upskill them to be able to manage or deal with what the new norm is going to be,' he said.
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