Dubai to inject equity into Emirates airline, says Sheikh Hamdan

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on Tuesday that the Government of Dubai will inject equity into its national carrier Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline.

“Today, we renew our commitment to support a success story that started in the mid-1980s to reach its goal of sitting on the throne of global aviation. The Government of Dubai is committed to fully supporting Emirates at this critical time & will inject equity into the company,” said the crown prince in a tweet.

Today, we renew our commitment to support a success story that started in the mid-1980s to reach its goal of sitting on the throne of global aviation. The Government of Dubai is committed to fully supporting @Emirates at this critical time & will inject equity into the company. pic.twitter.com/3cabmUDOVD

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 31, 2020

“Emirates, our national carrier, positioned Dubai as an global travel hub and has great strategic value as one of the main pillars of Dubai’s economy, as well as the wider economy of the UAE. We will announce further details about the equity injection and more measures soon,” he added.

.@Emirates, our national carrier, positioned Dubai as an global travel hub and has great strategic value as one of the main pillars of Dubai’s economy, as well as the wider economy of the UAE. We will announce further details about the equity injection and more measures soon. pic.twitter.com/wdcrn2trO9

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) March 31, 2020

On March 19, Bloomberg reported that Emirates was considering grounding the bulk of its 115 Airbus SE superjumbos as the coronavirus undermined global travel demand, and that it had already idled more than 20 A380s, and was seeking to delay taking the last handful due for delivery. The airline also operates 155 Boeing 777 wide-bodies.

Read: Emirates mulls grounding its A380 fleet as virus spreads

On March 22, Emirates announced a temporary reduction in basic salary for the majority of Emirates Group employees for three months, ranging from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. It also said that it would suspend “most” of its passenger operations from Wednesday, March 25.

Read: Update: Dubai’s Emirates says to stop ‘most’ passenger flights from March 25

However, on March 23, the UAE said that it had decided to suspend all inbound and outbound passenger flights and the transit of airline passengers for two weeks beginning March 26 as part of precautionary measures taken to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read more: UAE suspends all inbound and outbound passenger flights for two weeks

According to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global airline industry needs government aid and bailout measures totaling between $150bn and $200bn if it is to survive the coronavirus crisis.

Read: Airlines need upto $200bn to survive virus – IATA