Like all the other airlines in the world, Emirates has entered a severe zone of turbulence. After cutting staff by 10% due to the pandemic, the figure could climb to 15% according to its CEO, Tim Clark. In an interview broadcast on Saturday to the BBC, the leader also recalls that before the start of the health crisis, the group was headed for one of the best years in its history. He finally underlines that the company based in Dubai resists better than most of its competitors.
Should this 15% mark be reached, Emirates would be cut by some 9,000 positions - out of a total of 60,000 before the containment period, including 4,300 pilots and 22,000 crew members. Its CEO has already indicated that operations could hardly return to normal before four years, that is to say by 2024. In the coming weeks, the largest company in the Middle East plans to serve 58 destinations, or a large third of its perimeter usual. In the meantime, its fleet of 270 wide-body aircraft continues to operate very far from its capacity.
The priority is survival
In early June, on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market, Tim Clark delivered grim forecasts for the entire sector. Affirming that several carriers represented at this show would be hard to get through the winter. "You have to rethink your priorities and one of them is to survive," said the CEO of Emirates. Since then, estimates by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have fallen: the combined losses of all airlines could reach $ 85 billion in 2020, unprecedented proportions.
