Emirates said Sunday it has dramatically cut its passenger flight destinations from 145 locations to just 13 countries, due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
The state-owned carrier said it will keep flying to the US, the UK, Japan, Australia and Canada, among a few other select destinations. The company had just hours earlier announced a suspension of all passenger flights, but reversed that decision after receiving requests from governments and customers to support the repatriation of travelers.
The United Arab Emirates has all but closed its borders to travelers with exceptions for those transiting through or for Emirati citizens returning.
The UAE carrier stressed in its earlier statement on Sunday it will continue to operate cargo flights through its fleet of Boeing 777 freighters for the transport of essential goods, including medical supplies across the world.
Emirates also said the company would reduce salaries for the majority of its employees for three months, but will not cut jobs.
Airlines around the world are struggling to cover their costs and pay salaries with their fleets grounded and countries shutting their borders to travelers.
In the Middle East, airlines have lost more than $7 billion in revenue as of March 11, according to the International Air Transport Association. The group says 16,000 passenger flights have been cancelled in the Middle East since the end of January.
Emirates Group CEO and Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum described the situation as “an unprecedented crisis” and said “the world has literally gone into quarantine” due to the virus and the illness it causes called COVID-19.
The company, which also operates an airport ground services company called dnata at locations around the world, had already urged employees to take paid and unpaid leave.
To save costs further, it said it was temporarily reducing the basic salaries of the majority of Emirates Group employees for three months, with cuts ranging from 25-50%.
The company said employees will continue to be paid other allowances during this time. Junior-level employees would be exempt from the basic salary reduction. The president of Emirates, Tim Clark, and the president of dnata, Gary Chapman, will take a full basic salary cut for three months.
“We want to avoid cutting jobs. When demand picks up again, we also want to be able to quickly ramp up and resume services for our customers,” Al Maktoum said.
The UAE approved an additional 16 billion dirhams ($4.36 billion) on Sunday for a total stimulus package of 126 billion dirhams, the country's vice president and Dubai ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, tweeted.
