Airlines

Emirates posts $3.4 billion half-year loss as coronavirus hits flights 

Key Points
  • Emirates Group, which includes the airline, said its workforce had shrunk by 24% to 81,334 staff as of Sept 30.

In this article

    Aircraft operated by Emirates, at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates.
    Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Emirates lost $3.4 billion in the first six months of the year, tipping the Dubai state-owned airline's holding company into its first half-year loss in more than thirty years.

    The carrier, which temporarily suspended operations this year at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, said global flight and travel restrictions meant revenue dropped 75% to $3.2 billion as passenger traffic fell 95% to 1.5 million.

    Emirates Group, which includes the airline, said its workforce had shrunk by 24% to 81,334 staff as of Sept 30.

    The airline confirmed it had received $2 billion in financial assistance from the government of Dubai as an equity investment.

    Emirates had reported a 862 million dirham profit for the first half of the
    previous year.

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