Emirates laying off pilots & cabin crew, plans to cut more jobs

Emirates, one of the world’s biggest airlines, will lay off more pilots and cabin crew on Wednesday, sources said.

An Emirates spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the airline’s statement on Tuesday that some employees had been laid off. No further details were provided.

As the deadly Coronavirus outbreak has reached its on the upper levels of its spread, even the well-reputed and financially stable companies are dismissing employees as fears of financial losses soared.

According to sources, the Dubai state airline laid off hundreds of pilots and thousands of cabin crew on Tuesday in a bid to save the current financial sufferings due to Coronavirus pandemic.

More redundancies were expected this week, including both Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 pilots, the sources further said.

Earlier, after the government had allowed Emirates to operate special flights from Dubai to Pakistan, the airline carried 251 passengers and arrived at Islamabad.

Emirates had been permitted to operate Dubai-Islamabad flight to bring back stranded Pakistanis.

All the passengers after their arrival were shifted to different quarantine facilities for medical tests following Coronavirus rules.

Emirates airline had already activated precautionary measures at Dubai International Airport to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

Likewise, the civil aviation authorities had already put in place all possible measures to ensure the safety of passengers and airlines crew against the spread of Covid-19.

Moreover, social distancing and other health measures were being strictly implemented at airports.

Also, Emirates had decides to raise debt in order to help through Coronavirus crisis that has grappled almost every business including global travel.

The airline company also warned that the recovery to overcome economic disasters will take at least 18 months. It also reported a 21% profit rise for its financial year.

Emirates, however, did not mention how much debt it would raise. The airline suspended regular passenger flights in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.