Emirates Airlines Has Had its First Loss in More Than 30 Years
On Thursday, Dubai (UAE) based “Emirates” airlines recorded its first loss for over 30 years, saying it has been miserably hit by the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic lockdown that brought the air transport to “a literal standstill”.
However, it suffered a 3.4 billion dollars loss in the six months to September, forcing it to bring down its workforce, says the Middle East’s largest carrier.
In a statement, the airline’s chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said that “No one can predict the future, but we expect a steep recovery in travel demand once a Covid-19 vaccine is available, and we are readying ourselves to serve that rebound”. The statement extended to by saying “In this unprecedented situation for the travel and aviation industry, the Emirates Group is experiencing its first loss in over 30 years.”
Meanwhile, in Thursday’s announcement the base of the emirates group’s employee which consists of ground-handling firm dnata is significantly bring down by 24 per cent to an overall count of 81,334 as at September 30, 2020.
Also, the air passenger carrier which had to temporarily suspend operations this year saw the revenue fall 75 per cent to 3.2 billion dollars.
According to its Annual Report, Prior to the coronavirus epidemic hit, Emirates airlines alone employed some 60,000 workforces together with 4,300 pilots and almost 22,000 cabin crew.
Moreover, the target was to accomplish 20 million this year, before the coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, and last year the tourism has long been an economic mainstay of Dubai, which welcomed more than 16 million visitors.
Earlier, the Dubai-based airlines provided a world network spanning over 158 destinations in 84 countries. However, presently it flies to only 99 destinations.
