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Air Travel

Emirates suspends most passenger flights

By Molly Dyson / 23 March 2020 / Contact Reporter
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Update 24 March: Etihad has also suspended all passenger flights after Abu Dhabi announced only UAE citizens, their immediate family members, diplomatic passport holders and those with UAE-API clearance will be allowed entry.


Emirates has announced it will suspend the vast majority of its passenger flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the chief executive saying the airline “cannot viably operate” services until the situation improves.

The move comes after the government of the United Arab Emirates issued a directive to suspend all passenger services for two weeks.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, said: “The world has literally gone into quarantine due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This is an unprecedented crisis situation in terms of breadth and scale – geographically, as well as from a health, social and economic standpoint. Until January 2020, the Emirates Group was doing well against our current financial year targets. But Covid-19 has brought all that to a sudden and painful halt over the past six weeks.

“As a global network airline, we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot viably operate passenger services until countries re-open their borders, and travel confidence returns. By Wednesday, 25 March, although we will still operate cargo flights which remain busy, Emirates will have temporarily suspended most of its passenger operations. We continue to watch the situation closely, and as soon as things allow, we will reinstate our services.”

The airline will continue to operate repatriation flights on routes to the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, the US and Canada. However, it said it could only do this “as long as borders remain open”. Flight schedules and any future changes can be found on the carrier’s website.

Sheikh Ahmed added: “Emirates Group has a strong balance sheet, and substantial cash liquidity, and we can and will, with appropriate and timely action, survive through a prolonged period of reduced flight schedules so that we are adequately prepared for the return to normality.”

Like other carriers, Emirates is implementing a number of cost-saving measures while capacity is reduced, including a freeze on recruitment and consultancy work, postponing or cancelling expenditure, asking employees to take paid or unpaid leave, and a 25-50 per cent pay cut for the majority of employees for three months.

In addition, Sir Tim Clark and Gary Chapman, the presidents of Emirates and dnata, respectively, will take a 100 per cent basic pay cut for three months.

Sheikh Ahmed said the temporary reduction in salary was designed to avoid cutting jobs so the airline can “quickly ramp up and resume services” when demand starts to pick up again.

He concluded: “These are unprecedented times for the airline and travel industry, but we will get through it. Our business is taking a hit, but what matters in the long run is that we do the right thing for our customers, our employees and the communities we serve. With the support and unity that we have seen from our employees, partners, customers and other stakeholders, I’m confident that Emirates can tackle this challenge and come out stronger.”

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