The biggest airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that they’ll incorporate Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment medium. Besides that, the airline will also launch non-fungible tokens (NFT), tradeable on their website.
The chief operating officer of Emirates, Adel Ahmed Al-Redha talked about Bitcoin incorporation at a media gathering at Arabian Travel Market. He stated that Emirates will onboard new employees who’ll focus on blockchain-based projects such as crypto, blockchain, metaverse, and NFTs.
According to the report, the airline is looking into blockchain in order to keep a track of their aircraft. Besides that, the airline is looking to use metaverse as a transformation source for their operations, training, website sales, and other experiences. Adel stated that metaverse can make these processes more ‘interactive’.
Other than improving its operations, Adel is also looking at Bitcoin and NFTs as a way to attract more customers since the airline industry is making a comeback. Having a bitcoin payment service and NFT collectibles will make it more alluring for customers according to the COO.
While it’s great to see Emirates airlines looking to incorporate Bitcoin, it is not the first airline to do so. In fact, Air France has partnered with several organizations in Feb 2021 to create a blockchain-based system. This system will verify COVID-19 test results.
Besides Air France, airBaltic, a Latvian airline added DOGE and ETH as payment options to its platform. The airline implemented these payment methods in March 2021. Even more interesting is the fact that the airline has implemented Bitcoin since 2014 and also accepts USDC, Binance USD, and Gemini Dollar.
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