Emirates is the largest Middle Eastern operator to serve the US by passenger traffic. According to the country’s Department of Transportation (DOT), the Gulf giant carried nearly 3.3 million round-trip passengers in 2025. It was assisted by two routes stopping in Europe, and another continuing from the US to Colombia.

Emirates’ traffic fell by 1.6% compared to the prior year. The reduction was mainly because of lower passengers on some routes. For example, traffic between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Boston reduced by nearly a tenth (-9.6%), followed by Chicago O’Hare (-8.9%) and Los Angeles (-7.9%). 2025 was, of course, before the war in Iran.

The Gulf Giant’s US Result Summarized

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When all Emirates’ US services are considered, the DOT shows that the average load factor (or, more accurately, seat factor) in 2025 was a paltry 73.2%. While not a like-for-like comparison, it was ten percentage points lower than for all carriers operating between the US and the Middle East. It was significantly lower than for key competitors Qatar Airways (91.4%) and Etihad Airways (88.5%). It is so much lower that it would be perfectly reasonable to wonder if the government’s figures are correct.

Compared to the prior year, Emirates’ load had fallen by almost four percentage points. The capacity-traffic balance was out of sync, so fewer seats were filled. Of course, it is, as always, about how loads were achieved, and it is important to remember it is just one performance measure. Nonetheless, there is no denying that the Emirates’ overall figure is surprisingly low.

This US Route Had Emirates’ Lowest Load Factor In 2025

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With only 65.9% of seats filled, the DOT indicates that DXB to Miami International Airport (MIA) was the worst-performing route in this sense. Of course, if fares and yields for passengers and freight were also examined (the details are unavailable), the picture might be different. Despite flights continuing to Bogotá (traffic rights are available), a third of the available seats were unfilled, which is very surprising. It is possible that this reflects how data has been submitted.

Booking information for last year identifies where most MIA passengers went. By far the most popular segment was not in South Asia. It was Manila, with Emirates carrying over 20,000 passengers to/from the capital of the Philippines (55+ daily). This was because of the cruise industry. It had about 28% of the market.

The rest of the top ten cities were Denpasar (Bali), Mumbai, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Johannesburg, Delhi, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Singapore. Unusually for Emirates, Southeast Asia, not South Asia, was the top region from MIA. Flying via DXB adds relatively little time compared to connecting at a European hub.

Emirates’ 2nd To 5th-Lowest Results

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The following table summarizes the next four entries, all of which were below the airline’s average US load factor. With 71.2% of seats filled, DXB to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) is the second-lowest result. Cirium Diio data shows that BOS has been part of Emirates’ network since March 2014. While the 777-200LR was initially flown, the 777-300ER took over soon thereafter. The 777-300ER has operated nearly all flights since then.

The 489-seat A380 was used between June and September 2019, and again in December 2019 and January 2020. Despite the superjumbo’s considerable capacity, the load factor in those months varied from 77.0% to 94.7% — considerably more than in 2025, when the 328-seat 777-300ER was deployed.

The traffic of 170,610 passengers meant 2025 was only the eighth-best year on record. The best year was 2016, when 346,612 passengers were carried. That was mainly because most months had two daily flights. It is perhaps no wonder that the frequency pretty quickly returned to daily. However, even a daily frequency is perhaps still excessive, especially during the shoulder months, as the DOT shows loads of just 54.7% and 56.7% in September and October 2025.

Emirates’ 6th To 10th-Lowest Loads

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With 73.4% of seats filled, the DOT shows that DXB to Los Angeles ranked sixth (259,219 passengers). Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) was next (76.5%; 185,094 passengers), followed by Seattle (76.7%; 184,484), New York JFK (77.1%; 836,182 passengers), and Dallas/Fort Worth (83.3%; 200,315 passengers). JFK’s figures combine both the two daily nonstop services and the daily operation via Milan (traffic rights are available)

Emirates has flown to EWR since 2017. For nearly all that time, flights have stopped en route in Athens (traffic rights are available). It is still served daily on the 777-300ER. It remains by far the carrier’s latest-arriving passenger service in North America, arriving in New Jersey via Greece after 9 PM local time.