Dubai-Based Emirates Airline Adds Bitcoin And Crypto Payments

People can now pay with Bitcoin to buy flights from Dubai-based airline Emirates. 

Working with Crypto.com, Emirates said Tuesday the customers now have the option to book flights using the crypto exchange’s payment feature.

Crypto.com and Emirates last year announced they would work together. 

Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim said the move “reflects the rapidly evolving preferences of a younger, digitally fluent generation who manage their money and plan their journeys primarily from their phones and they expect the airlines they fly with to keep pace.”

Emirates first teased plans back in 2022 to implement Bitcoin payments; the latest move allows Crypto.com customers to use any digital assets to make payments. 

Under the new setup, travelers with a Crypto.com account can select Crypto.com Pay at checkout when booking on emirates.com or through the Emirates App. 

The option is limited for now to eligible UAE residents making bookings priced and settled in Emirati Dirham.

The integration runs through Crypto.com’s Dubai-licensed entity, which the company says was the first virtual asset service provider to receive a Stored Value Facilities license from the Central Bank of the UAE. 

The launch also feeds into wider government targets. It supports Dubai’s Cashless Strategy, part of the D33 Economic Agenda, which is aiming to make 90% of transactions across the emirate’s government and private sectors digital by the end of 2026. 

It follows on from an earlier Emirates partnership with Dubai Finance to advance digital payments, and comes after Crypto.com struck its own deal with Dubai Finance to accept digital payments for government services.