Emirates predicts 18-month lull in air demand

Agence France-Presse

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Emirates predicts 18-month lull in air demand

AFP

Emirates posts 1.1 billion dirhams ($288 million) in net profit for the financial year ending March 2020, but it notes the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the aviation industry

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Gulf aviation giant Emirates said Sunday, May 10, it would take at least 18 months for travel demand to return to “a semblance of normality,” despite reporting bumper pre-pandemic profits. 

The Dubai carrier, the largest in the Middle East, posted 1.1 billion dirhams ($288 million) in net profit for the financial year ending March, up from $237 million the previous year.

It was the 32nd straight year of profit for Emirates, which operates a fleet of 115 Airbus A380 superjumbos and 155 Boeing 777 airliners.

It had suspended flights on March 22 before resuming some services two weeks later.

Emirates Group chief Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said the airline had performed strongly in the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

“However, from mid-February things changed rapidly as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world,” he said in a statement.

This caused “a sudden and tremendous drop in demand for international air travel as countries closed their borders and imposed stringent travel restrictions.”

“We expect it will take 18 months at least, before travel demand returns to a semblance of normality,” he added.

Emirates’ profits were boosted by a fall in oil prices, causing a 15% decline in fuel costs to $7.2 billion – around 31% of its operating costs.

However, the carrier saw its annual revenues decline by 6% to $25 billion due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of a runway at Dubai airport.

The airline said it had transported just over 56 million passengers in the fiscal year, a drop of 4% year-on-year, while cargo had declined by a tenth to 2.4 million tons.

The strong United States dollar eroded $272 million of profits, while intensive competition also affected the bottom line.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic paralyzed the aviation industry, Emirates had slimmed its orders from both Airbus and Boeing, cutting tens of billions of dollars worth of aircraft.

The government of Dubai, whose economy heavily depends on aviation and tourism, said last month it would inject capital into Emirates to help it cope with the impact of the coronavirus. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!