The Government has removed the United Arab Emirates from the current travel quarantine list paving the way for reopening air routes between the Arab nation and the UK.
CEO of the Emirates Group Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has stated that he welcomes the change and “Emirates is ready to reinstate more flight services between Dubai and the UK to serve customer demand.”
He also believes that the opening of the travel corridor would help boost business and tourism as well as help families on both sides reconnect.
These changes will be welcome for the Dubai-based carrier which has posted it’s first losses in over 30 years to the tune of £2.5 in the run up to September. It’s last loss was in the 1987-88 financial year during it’s start-up phase.
This loss has forced it’s parental group to begin reducing it’s workforce by a quarter as well as modifying it’s fleet. Emirates Skycargo has modified 10 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft into a cargo configuration. The airline has also been using their Airbus A380 fleet in a cargo capacity for urgent medical supplies.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: “As passenger traffic disappeared, Emirates and dnata have been able to rapidly pivot to serve cargo demand and other pockets of opportunity. This has helped us recover our revenues from zero to 26% of our position same time last year.
“No one can predict the future, but we expect a steep recovery in travel demand once a COVID-19 vaccine is available, and we are readying ourselves to serve that rebound. In the meantime, Emirates and dnata remain responsive in deploying resources to serve our customers and meet demand.”
The travel industry is hoped to pick up during the winter season after the current UK lockdown ends on December 2. Airlines such as TUI, Jet2 and Iberia Express have already announced scheduled from December through to the coming summer.
These schedules follow announcements from Pfizer and BioNTech of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being tested successfully as well as the R rate falling below one.