United Arab Emirates’ flagship airline ‘Emirates’ has announced its plans to enter blockchain ongoings via a number of different avenues.
The announcement was made by Emirates COO Adel Ahmed Al-Redha, who stated that the company will soon begin onboarding Web3-focused employees. This team will develop the company’s projects within crypto payments, blockchain tracking, the metaverse, and NFTs.
Al-Redha said that the company is looking into such technology as a way of keeping aircraft records, while its metaverse endeavours will be designed around operational processes, training, website sales, and other airline-related experiences.
To expand its reach, the company also said that it will begin accepting payments in Bitcoin, followed by the release of a collectible and tradable collection of NFTs – however the launch dates for such initiatives remain TBA.
Emirates are not the first airline to lift-off into Web3. Air France has already onboarded blockchain technology as a means of verifying COVID-19 test results, Australia’s Qantas has launched an NFT collection, and Latvian airline airBaltic has been accepting payments in various cryptocurrencies since 2014.