Dubai Airshow 2025 Day One: A Future-Ready UAE, a Confident Industry, and a Prominent Indian Showcase
At 1:30 pm sharp, a wall of helicopters swept low over Dubai World Central, triggering a wave of lifted phones and gasps from the packed viewing line. The Dubai Airshow 2025 opened its first flying displays in spectacular fashion on Monday, November 17, setting the tempo for what has shaped into the event’s busiest edition yet.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the 19th edition welcomed more than 148,000 visitors, 1,500 exhibitors and 200 aircraft, reaffirming Dubai’s status as one of the world’s most influential aerospace crossroads. The theme — “The Future is Here” — felt entirely earned.
This year’s flying programme is the densest in the show’s history, 19 teams and aircraft types scheduled on Day One alone, blending national aerobatic teams, military formations, commercial flagships, next-generation fighters, transport aircraft and new-age electric mobility pioneers.
The show began with a UAE formation flypast, clean and perfectly aligned, sweeping across the runway in a coordinated pass that locked the crowd’s attention from the first second. Moments later, an Emirates A380 made a sweeping low pass, its huge wings glinting under the desert sun, drawing one of the biggest reactions of the afternoon.
But the emotional high arrived with Fursan Al Emarat, flying their newly re-equipped Hongdu L-15 advanced jet trainers. They opened with a towering vertical climb, releasing drifting plumes of red, white, black and green smoke — painting the UAE flag across the sky. Their aircraft, carrying gold accents representing the desert and black detailing symbolising the nation’s oil legacy, drew extended applause with every coordinated cross and tight formation break.
In between high-G action, the tempo shifted as Joby Aviation’s eVTOL marked a historic moment: the first flight of an electric air taxi at a major global airshow.
The aircraft rose almost silently, performing banks, turns and a static hover that stunned onlookers. Its inclusion in the official flying programme, a first for an AAM aircraft, signals the UAE’s intent to bring commercial air taxi services to Dubai by 2026.
“This milestone reflects Dubai’s ambition to lead in advanced air mobility,” said Mohammed Abdulla Lengawi, Director General of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.
Even in the scorching afternoon heat, the real buzz travelled across the static displays and chalets, where Day One produced a cascade of major announcements.
Boeing stole the early headlines as Emirates committed to 65 additional 777-9s, taking its total 777X orders to an unprecedented 270 aircraft. The deal, worth USD 38 billion at list prices, also revealed that Boeing is studying a stretched 777-10 variant, with Emirates reserving the option to convert future orders to the new type. “Every single order has been carefully factored into our long-term growth plans,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Boeing added momentum with Ethiopian Airlines firming 11 more 737 MAX 8s, and with flydubai ordering 60 GE Aerospace GEnx-1B engines to power its new Boeing 787-9 fleet, marking the carrier’s long-haul expansion. Boeing and Air Senegal also confirmed a commitment for nine 737 MAX jets — the carrier’s largest fleet purchase and first Boeing order since 2004.
Airbus, meanwhile, projected that the Middle East’s in-service fleet will more than double to 3,700 aircraft by 2044, with demand for more than 4,000 new jets, underlining why Gulf carriers remain central to its global forecast.
If any OEM matched the energy of the aviation giants, it was Embraer. The Brazilian manufacturer announced two new orders: Air Côte d’Ivoire placed four firm E175s plus eight purchase rights, tailored for West Africa’s thin routes; and Helvetic Airways added three more E195-E2s with five purchase rights, building toward a fleet of up to 20 E2 jets.
Incidentally, Embraer also celebrated what it described as a “strong year” with 214 E-Jet sales across airlines, including SkyWest, SAS, ANA, LATAM and TrueNoord. But the star of its display was the worldwide debut of its new KC-390 demonstrator, wearing a striking livery displaying flags of its 10 customer nations. “It is a very important, strategic region for Embraer as a group,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “We are expecting a very crowded and productive show.”
India registered its strongest-ever presence at the airshow. Raksha Rajya Mantri Sanjay Seth inaugurated the India Pavilion, led by HAL, DRDO, Dantal Hydraulics, SFO Technologies and others, while 19 Indian private companies exhibited independently.
The iDEX pavilion showcased 15 startups presenting innovations in autonomy, avionics, AI and defence systems, reinforcing India’s growing aerospace ambition. In the air, the Suryakiran Aerobatic Team and LCA Tejas drew consistent crowds, the latter underscoring India’s emergence as an exporter of indigenous fighters.
UAE’s EDGE Group unveiled 42 new products, including autonomous drones, smart munitions and next-gen radars, signalling a dramatic scale-up in domestic aerospace capability.
Boeing also confirmed first flight testing of the Remote Vision System 2.0 for the KC-46 Pegasus, a key milestone as the US Air Force prepares for a broader tanker procurement.
It was a day that captured tomorrow. As Sheikh Mohammed toured the static displays, reviewing new technologies and meeting global delegations, the message was unmistakable: the UAE intends to define the next era of aviation. And Tim Hawes of Informa Markets echoed, “Dubai Airshow 2025 is where innovation takes flight.”
Day One delivered exactly that — a confident display of ambition, cutting-edge technology and global industry momentum, framed by a sky that stayed alive long after the flying programme ended.
Also Read: Dubai Airshow 2025: Testbed for Tomorrow, Roadmap for India
