Dubai airline Emirates Group made its first loss in over 30 years. In the first half of the financial year, the group lost USD 3.8 billion (about EUR 3.2 billion). The group was hit hard by the coronacrisis that literally stopped air traffic.
Emirates Group’s turnover in the first six months of the financial year, ending in september, amounted to 3.7 billion dollars. That’s a 74% drop compared to the same period last year. From April to September, Emirates carried 1.5 million passengers, 95 percent less than a year earlier. At the same time, the company was able to increase freight transport by 65%. Fuel costs were about 83% lower than in the same period last year. This was partly due to the massive fall in oil prices.
“In this unprecedented situation for the aviation and travel industry, Emirates Group recorded a six – monthly loss for the first time in more than 30 years,” said the airline’s chairman and director, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Makoum, in a statement. “No one can predict the future, but we expect a strong recovery in the demand for travel once a vaccine is available, and we are preparing for that upturn.”
The director also said that the airline group has been able to make use of its own strong cash reserves, and that the Government of Dubai will provide financial support to the company. In the first half of the year, the shareholder invested $ 2 billion in Emirates. Emirates Group’s workforce has been significantly reduced by 24% since March. In September, more than 81,000 people worked in the airline group.
