With many airlines have resumed operations, and having taken steps to conserve cash, brands such as Emirates have decided to restore the full salaries of their employees starting from October.
The move comes on the heels of the Airline resuming passenger flights to more locations, expanding its network to 84 destinations with the restart of services to the Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja this week.
In March, the Dubai government had extended financial support to the state-owned airline and helped transform the Emirates into a global travel hub.
Following the lockdown, the airline industry was one of the worst affected, with flights being grounded and absolutely no revenue being generated. Like many other airlines, the world’s biggest long-haul airline couldn’t sustain excess resources and had to impose 50 per cent pay cuts for its employees grade four and above, from July 1, 2020 until September 2020.
The airline had also resorted to layoffs to stay afloat. The downsizing exercise began with the pilots and cabin crew initially. It had laid off more than 9000 employees in the past few months, sacking 800 pilots in a day.
Emirates had suspended operations in March — when flights were grounded the world over and international borders were sealed — in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
On September 6, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways revealed its intention to extend the duration of employees’ wage cuts until the end of 2020, albeit at a reduced rate.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global passenger traffic is unlikely to recover to pre-crisis levels before 2024.
