The issue of expanding traffic rights for airlines from the United Arab Emirates has once again sparked debate in Germany, this time just ahead of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s state visit to Berlin. The European Cockpit Association (ECA) has urged German authorities not to grant additional traffic rights without clearer safeguards ensuring fair competitive conditions.

At the center of the debate is Emirates, which has for years sought to expand its German network to Berlin and Stuttgart. Under the current bilateral agreement between Germany and the UAE, the airline is permitted to serve four destinations in the country and has used those rights for Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Under the existing rules, opening Berlin or Stuttgart would require Emirates to replace one of its current destinations. The airline, however, is seeking an expansion of the agreement that would allow it to add new cities without withdrawing from existing markets.

In June, Emirates publicly reaffirmed that it was ready to launch daily flights from Dubai to Berlin and Stuttgart if approval is granted by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport. The airline estimates that each route would generate more than €100 million in annual operating expenditure through salaries, airport charges, fuel and other costs. Emirates also said it carried 2.36 million passengers on its German routes in 2025, with 60% continuing their journeys through Dubai to other destinations.

Transfer traffic is precisely one of the main arguments used by opponents of further liberalization. ECA, which represents more than 44,000 pilots across Europe, warns that additional capacity could further divert passengers travelling between Europe and Asia through Dubai and Abu Dhabi instead of European hubs. According to the association, this could weaken European airlines, employment and feeder networks serving major European airports.

ECA stresses that it is not opposed to competition itself, but argues that competition must take place under comparable conditions. The association therefore says decisions on additional traffic rights should take into account not only connectivity, but also European jobs, social standards, climate regulations and the strategic importance of Europe’s aviation sector.

Another issue highlighted by ECA is access to Russian airspace. Airlines from the European Union are barred from Russian airspace and therefore have to operate significantly longer routings on many services to Asia, while Emirates and other UAE carriers continue to overfly Russia. This gives them shorter flight times and lower operating costs in certain markets.

Lufthansa Group has been making similar arguments for some time and remains one of the most vocal opponents of granting additional rights to Gulf carriers. In a policy document published in March, Lufthansa argued that additional access for UAE airlines would further weaken European hubs and their feeder networks. The group also claims that as much as 80% of passengers on some German Emirates services connect through Dubai, meaning that additional routes would not necessarily create new nonstop intercontinental links for Germany, but would instead channel more passengers through a hub outside Europe.

Emirates disputes that interpretation. The airline argues that Berlin and Stuttgart would gain access to markets that currently lack adequate long-haul connectivity from those cities. It identifies Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam among important destinations for German passengers and maintains that new routes would complement existing services rather than directly take traffic away from German airlines.

According to OAG Schedules Analyser data cited by Aviation Week, approximately 296,100 two-way seats are being offered between Germany and the UAE in September 2026, a decrease of 14.6% compared with the same month last year. Emirates is by far the largest airline in the market, with around 205,300 seats and a 69.3% share, while Etihad Airways offers approximately 79,400 seats. Air Arabia accounts for around 11,400 seats through its Sharjah–Munich service.

This year’s reduction in capacity is partly the result of instability in the Middle East. Lufthansa and Condor, which together offered almost 26,300 seats to the UAE in September last year, have since suspended their services. As a result, all currently scheduled capacity between the two countries is being operated by UAE-based airlines.

The dispute is gaining additional political significance ahead of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Germany on September 9. He is scheduled to meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with the official agenda focused on economic and development cooperation as well as regional and international issues.

Aviation is also part of a broader economic relationship. Bilateral trade between Germany and the UAE exceeded €13.6 billion in 2025, while around 2,000 German companies operate in the Emirates. Whether closer economic ties will also create room for changes to the existing air services agreement remains an open question. However, Emirates’ longstanding push for access to Berlin and Stuttgart has once again become a focal point in Germany’s debate over where market liberalization ends and the protection of Europe’s strategic aviation interests begins.