Business Travel News EuropeBusiness Travel News Europe
Business Travel News Europe
  • NEWSOpen Menu
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
  • FEATURESOpen Menu
    • View All Features
  • CONVERSATIONSOpen Menu
    • Interviews and Q&As
    • Guest columns
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
  • RESOURCESOpen Menu
    • Powered Up: The travel tech of today & tomorrow
    • The Future of Meetings
    • Smart Money: Cards, payments & expenses
    • The Journey Towards Sustainable Business Travel
    • Safety Measures: Risk, duty of care & wellbeing
    • Stepping It Up: Small & midsized travel programmes
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in business travel
    • Business Travel Rebooted
    • New Horizons: The 2022 sourcing guide
    • Wheels in Motion
  • EVENTSOpen Menu
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show Europe
    • Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off
    • Business Travel Awards Europe
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit Europe
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit Europe
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSOpen Menu
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
  • FEATURESOpen Menu
    • View All Features
  • CONVERSATIONSOpen Menu
    • Interviews and Q&As
    • Guest columns
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
  • RESOURCESOpen Menu
    • Powered Up: The travel tech of today & tomorrow
    • The Future of Meetings
    • Smart Money: Cards, payments & expenses
    • The Journey Towards Sustainable Business Travel
    • Safety Measures: Risk, duty of care & wellbeing
    • Stepping It Up: Small & midsized travel programmes
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in business travel
    • Business Travel Rebooted
    • New Horizons: The 2022 sourcing guide
    • Wheels in Motion
  • EVENTSOpen Menu
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show Europe
    • Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off
    • Business Travel Awards Europe
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit Europe
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit Europe
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
  • SUBSCRIBE
Business Travel News Europe
  • Business Travel News Europe on Twitter
  • BTN Europe on LinkedIn
  • BTN Europe on Facebook
  • NEWS
    • Accommodation
    • Air Travel
    • Ground Transport
    • Management
    • Meetings
    • On the Move
    • Payment & Expense
    • Technology
    • TMC & Distribution
    • Travel Procurement
    • Recent Issues
    SubscribeBTN Europe NewsletterBTN Europe Magazine
  • FEATURES
    • View All Features
    2023 Hotlist BTN EuropeThe 2023 Hotlist
    Shanghai ChinaThe great reopening of China?
    Europe from spaceA European tour

  • CONVERSATIONS
    • Interviews and Q&As
    • Guest columns
    • Podcasts
    • VIEW ALL CONVERSATIONS
    David DuffyHow the EU has fixed ESG
    Helen HodgkinsonLet payments shine a light on your environmental impact
    John Sturino, vice president of product and technology, EgenciaWhy business travellers need more control over their trips
  • RESOURCES
    • Powered Up: The travel tech of today & tomorrow
    • The Future of Meetings
    • Smart Money: Cards, payments & expenses
    • The Journey Towards Sustainable Business Travel
    • Safety Measures: Risk, duty of care & wellbeing
    • Stepping It Up: Small & midsized travel programmes
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in business travel
    • Business Travel Rebooted
    • New Horizons: The 2022 sourcing guide
    • Wheels in Motion
    Tools & ResourcesEurope's Leading TMCs 2022Booking tools – the essential guideCorporate Travel Index EuropeTravel entry requirementsBTN Europe podcastsBTSE Kick Off - CEO InterviewsRecent issues of BTN Europe
  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Business Travel Show Europe
    • Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off
    • Business Travel Awards Europe
    • Business Travel Intelligence Summit Europe
    • Business Travel Accommodation Summit
    • Business Travel Tech Talk
    • Entertainment Travel Summit
    • Global Travel Risk Summit
    • Strategic Meetings Summit
    • Sustainable Business Travel Summit Europe
    • VIEW ALL EVENTS
    Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off

    Business Travel Show Europe Kick Off, 23 February,

    7th Annual Global Travel Risk Summit Europe

    Global Travel Risk Summit Europe, April 2023,

    Sustainable Business Travel Summit Europe

    3rd Annual Sustainable Business Travel Summit

  • SUBSCRIBE

Air Travel

Emirates suspends most passenger flights

By Molly Dyson / 23 March 2020 / Contact Reporter
Share

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.”

More Air Travel
Related
Vueling passengers help to pay for 20 tons of SAFVueling introduces new Gatwick-Alicante service
Air FranceAir France adds new route to Ottawa
British Airways A350British Airways to resume flights to China
Business Travel News EuropeBusiness Travel News Europe
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • EDITORIAL CALENDAR
  • Business Travel Show Europe
  • Business Travel News Europe on Twitter
  • BTN Europe on LinkedIn
  • BTN Europe on Facebook
BUSINESS TRAVEL NEWS EUROPE
NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP
Business Travel News
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Editorial calendar
  • Editorial guidelines
  • Subscribe to BTN Europe
  • Subscribe to BTN U.S.
  • Subscribe to Travel Procurement
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions
Northstar Travel Group
  • Corporate travel
  • Business Travel Show
  • Business Travel Awards
  • BTN U.S.
  • The Beat
  • Travel Procurement

  • Travel Technology
  • Travel Tech Show
  • Phocuswire
  • Phocuswright
  • Intelliguide
  • Meetings & incentives
  • M&IT
  • AMI
  • ConventionSource
  • M&IT Awards

  • Retail travel
  • Travel Weekly
  • Travel Pulse

  • Northstar Travel Group
  • View all Northstar brands
BTNGroup
Business Travel News EuropeBusiness Travel NewsTravel ProcurementThe BeatBusiness Travel Show Europe
Northstar Travel Group
Copyright ©2022, Northstar Travel Media Ltd, The Epworth, 25 City Road, London EC1Y 1AA, UK
RRManagement rrtestprocurement