Emirates has received a $2 billion bailout from Dubai’s government and has been told further support could follow depending on the length of the coronavirus crisis.
A bond prospectus, obtained by Reuters, said its state owner has been injecting the money into the business since March.
Last week, World of Aviation reported that Emirates asked it cabin crew staff to take unpaid leave despite being set to reopen more than 50 per cent of its pre-COVID routes in September.
It is unclear how long this will be, although reports from news agency Reuters suggest it is between one and three months. Emirates did not comment on reports of further redundancies.
The airline laid off over a thousand employees back in June, including 700 cabin crew and 600 pilots, most of whom flew the superjumbo Airbus A380 or were in training for type-rating the aircraft.
Before the crisis hit, Emirates employed some 60,000 staff, including 4,300 pilots and nearly 22,000 cabin crew, according to its annual report.
Emirates also made headlines recently by launching a new initiative that entitles all passengers to free coronavirus insurance valued to $250,000.
It was also one of the first airlines to fully embrace employees wearing full PPE – with cabin crew, boarding agents and ground staff in contact with passengers asked to wear disposable gowns, safety visors, masks and gloves back in April.
