Emirates Airlines, one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leading airlines, announced that it will adopt Bitcoin as a payment option for customers looking to fly with the airline, which ranks #5 among the top 20 airlines according to Airline Ratings.
The announcement was made by the company’s chief operating officer (COO), Adel Ahmed Al-Redha, who mentioned that Emirates Airlines, would soon accept “bitcoin as a payment option.” He also mentioned that the airline’s website will feature non-fungible token (NFT) collections.
Reports of the airline’s plan to embrace bitcoin as a payment option come just a few weeks after the airline revealed its NFT and metaverse plans. The company’s goal with the metaverse launch is to ensure the airline is “aligned with the UAE’s vision for the digital economy.”
What you should know
As part of its ambition to engage with consumers in a faster and more flexible manner, Emirates wants to adopt innovative digital technologies such as blockchain, metaverse, and cryptocurrency.
Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel Ahmed Al-Redha told a media gathering at the Arabian Travel Market that the airline will recruit additional workers for metaverse and NFTs, in order to build apps to monitor consumer demands
He said that NFT and metaverse are two different approaches. He also added that the airline would utilize blockchain technology to trace aircraft records.
He stated, “With the metaverse, you will be able to transform your whole processes whether it is in operation, training, sales on the website, or complete experience into a metaverse type application, but more importantly making it interactive.”
Emirates aims to use Bitcoin as a payment method and to sell NFT collectibles on the company’s websites, according to the official.
The development comes as major cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance and FTX have been expanding their presence by seeking regulatory approvals in the region.
Al-Redha stated the airline sector had recovered well, as seen by the increased number of passengers. However, he noted that the greatest problem is the availability of resources across the network, but that they “are in a better position than other nations because of the accessibility.”
UAE with its recent developments aims to stand at the forefront of crypto adoption. The country has been very welcoming to digital assets and their underlying technology.
