Emirates, one of the biggest and most distinctive airlines, has announced that it takes tough measures in response to the coronavirus and suspends all passenger operations until 25 March, 2020.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus began, the airline has been changing its services in accordance with regulatory directives and demand for travel.

However, new travel bans, closing borders and additional regulatory restrictions proved that temporary suspension of passenger operations is a necessary measure to maintain the business.

Nevertheless, Emirates will continue to utilise its Boeing 777 freighters for international cargo operations to transport vitally important supplies.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group, said in a statement that the scale of this crisis is absolutely unprecedented from all the standpoints.

“Until January 2020, the Emirates Group was doing well against our current financial year targets. But COVID-19 has brought all that to a sudden and painful halt over the past 6 weeks“, the CEO added.

The carrier operating exclusively widebody aircraft fleet revealed that its has undertaken many steps to reduce costs, including significant salary cuts for the Group’s employees.

According to the airline, it makes all the efforts to retain its employees and to avoid cutting jobs.

Therefore, the HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum explained that Emirates has a strong balance sheet and substantial cash liquidity to go through the crisis and get back to regular operations as soon as the world comes out of the crisis and returns its trust in travel.