The easing of COVID restrictions worldwide and an unexpected surge in consumer demand means Emirates is recruiting an additional 6000 operational staff over the next six months. The Dubai-based carrier says it is looking for additional pilots, cabin crew, engineering specialists and ground staff to support a ramp-up of global operations in response to a  sooner-than-expected surge in customer demand. Emirates announced in September that it was recruiting 3000 cabin crew and 500 airport services employees at its Dubai hub but says it now needs an additional 700 ground staff in Dubai and across its network. READ: Singapore Airlines launches new campaign to lure passengers. It is also looking for 600 qualified pilots interested in joining its flight operations team in Dubai and 1250 aircraft engineers and engineering support staff to reinforce its maintenance operations. The world’s biggest international airline has already restored 90 percent of its network and says it is on track to reach 70 percent of pre-pandemic capacity by the end of 2021. It is supplementing its flight schedules with increased frequencies to meet the pent-up demand and the deployment of its popular A380s will see 165,000 additional seats on the superjumbos by November. “Our requirement for 6000 additional operational staff signifies the quick recovery Dubai's economy is witnessing and will lead to opportunities and other positive developments across various other businesses, including those in the consumer, travel and tourism sectors,’’ said Emirates chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Emirates is the world's largest operator of both the Boeing 777 and A380 aircraft. Its fleet currently comprises 263 widebody aircraft and it has Airbus A350, Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 777-X aircraft ordered to meet future demand. All of the carrier’s  Boeing 777 aircraft are in active service, operating to more than 120 destinations on both passenger and cargo missions. The airline is flying its flagship A380 aircraft to 18 cities, and this will soon be scaled up by more than 65 percent to reach 27 destinations at the end of November. By December, the last two A380s will be delivered to join Emirates' fleet and some 50 of its A380 aircraft will have returned to active service. Emirates said a rapid vaccination roll-out in the United Arab Emirates, and clear pandemic protocols had enabled Dubai to quickly and safely re-open to international tourism and business activities since July 2020. “Currently, more than 86 percent of the UAE's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and more than 96 percent have received at least one dose, placing it as the highest in world in terms of numbers of vaccines administered per 100 people,’’ it said.