Coronavirus: Emirates airline posts first loss in more than 30 years
- The Middle East’s largest carrier said it suffered a US$3.4 billion loss in the six months to September amid ‘a literal standstill’ in global air traffic
- It last reported a loss in the 1987-88 financial year, when it was just starting up operations. Passengers numbers over this half-year were down 95 per cent
Dubai-based Emirates airline on Thursday posted its first loss in more than three decades, saying it had been badly hit by the coronavirus lockdown that brought air transport to “a literal standstill”.
“In this unprecedented situation for the aviation and travel industry, the Emirates Group recorded a half-year loss for the first time in over 30 years,” the airline’s chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.
“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.”
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Tracking the massive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world’s airline industry in early 2020
The last time the airline reported a loss was in the 1987-88 financial year, when it was starting up its operations.