What Happened : The Dubai-based airline -Emirates recorded a loss of $5.5 billion for 2020-21 as Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc over the aviation industry. This is the airline’s first documented loss in more than three decades. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said that “In 2020-21, Emirates and Dnata were hit hard by the drop in demand for international air travel as countries closed their borders and imposed stringent travel restrictions.”
Emirates reports a staggering annual loss of $5.5 billion — its first in over 30 years of operation
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) June 15, 2021
The Emirates Group has announced its financial results for 2020-21, its first non-profitable year in over three decades, due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact. https://t.co/pAhEZKK3hi pic.twitter.com/pRE7NmTcxB
— Emirates Airline (@emirates) June 15, 2021
The Response : Emirates previously received a capital injection of $3.1 billion as the Dnata group tapped into various industry relief programmes. While this helped to sustain their operations initially it was not enough. The Gulf carrier has since grounded most of its fleet of Airbus SE A380 aircraft and the Boeing Co. 777s is struggling with low passenger loads as seating capacity has decreased to 83 percent. The airline was also forced to reduce its total workforce by 31 percent to 75,145 employees. Consequently, as the pandemic lingers on Emirates and Dnata have started restructuring and looking for potential liquidity within the financial market.
Emirates today disclosed it had received an additional $1.1 bln from its Dubai state owner, on top of the $2bln it got last year to see through the pandemic. The airline, one of the biggest pre-pandemic, lost $5.5 bln in the last year, carried just 6.6 mln passengers.
— Alexander Cornwell (@alexjcornwell) June 15, 2021
Emirates is also stuck with being the world’s largest A380 operator — the superjumbo aircraft almost every other airline operator has now scrapped, retired or grounded as it’s simply too large in a post #COVID19 world (most airlines argue it was too large even before pandemic). pic.twitter.com/hUvpMr0cPp
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) June 15, 2021
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