THE UAE's flag carrier Emirates has posted its first ever loss in the company's history as the financial impact of Covid crisis hit hard.
The airline posted a US$5.4 billion loss for the last financial year, a huge drop from last year's $285.7 million profit. It's the first financial loss for the 36-year-old airline since the 1987-88 fiscal year when it operated a fleet of four aircraft.
Passenger numbers over the period dropped to 6.6 million, the lowest since 2003 when the airline flew 6.9 million people. Back then it had a fleet of 46 planes, now it has over 250.
The financial loss comes down to the 66 per cent drop in revenue to $8.4 billion due to Covid.
In the last financial year, Emirates received $3.04 billion from the Dubai government. Emirates has the same problem as Singapore Airlines and airlines based in Hong Kong, in that they have no domestic network to fall back on.
Due to a change in market demands, 19 of the airline's 146 Boeing 777s had the passenger cabin removed to make way for more cargo.
Despite being the flagship aircraft for the airline, most of its 113 Airbus A380s are grounded.
SeaNews Turkey
The airline posted a US$5.4 billion loss for the last financial year, a huge drop from last year's $285.7 million profit. It's the first financial loss for the 36-year-old airline since the 1987-88 fiscal year when it operated a fleet of four aircraft.
Passenger numbers over the period dropped to 6.6 million, the lowest since 2003 when the airline flew 6.9 million people. Back then it had a fleet of 46 planes, now it has over 250.
The financial loss comes down to the 66 per cent drop in revenue to $8.4 billion due to Covid.
In the last financial year, Emirates received $3.04 billion from the Dubai government. Emirates has the same problem as Singapore Airlines and airlines based in Hong Kong, in that they have no domestic network to fall back on.
Due to a change in market demands, 19 of the airline's 146 Boeing 777s had the passenger cabin removed to make way for more cargo.
Despite being the flagship aircraft for the airline, most of its 113 Airbus A380s are grounded.
SeaNews Turkey