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Emirates Airline group waited on Sunday, at least 18 months to pass, before travel demand returned to normal, as it announced a rise in its net profit for the fiscal year ending with the start of the crisis expansion. of the Corona virus.
The large Dubai-based group said it made a net profit of $ 288 million in the year from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, compared to $ 237 million in the prior year.
The group had suspended its flights in the last week of March, in the context of the outbreak of the Corona virus, before reorganizing trips only to certain destinations to transport citizens from Dubai to their countries.
This is the 32nd year in a row that the UAE group has posted net profits.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the group’s president, said in a statement that “Emirates Airlines” achieved “a good performance” during the first 11 months of fiscal year 2019/2020.
But things “started to turn upside down since mid-February due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in various regions of the world, which caused a great decrease in the demand for air travel, as the countries successively closed their borders and they imposed severe restrictions on travel. “
“We expect at least 18 months, and possibly more, to pass before travel demand returns to normal.”
The drop in oil prices helped the group increase its profits, as the cost of fuel fell about 15 percent to $ 7.2 billion, which represents 31 percent of total expenses.
However, overall revenue fell 6 percent to $ 25.1 billion, due to the Corona virus.
Emirates Airlines carried 56.2 million passengers in the fiscal year, a decrease of 4 percent, while shipments also decreased by 10 percent to reach 2.4 million tons of materials.
The authorities of the Emirate of Dubai decided at the end of March to inject new capital into the group “Emirates Airlines” to help them overcome the consequences of measures to limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus, including the suspension of flights.
Representing 290 airlines worldwide, IATA expects 2020 revenue for airlines in the Middle East operating more than 1,300 aircraft to decrease by $ 19 billion, a 39 percent drop from last year.
This would put 800,000 jobs at risk and could result in the loss of tens of millions of travelers this year.
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