Abu Dhabi, (Business News Report)|| Emirates airline has started paying off a huge amount it borrowed from the Dubai government during the Coronavirus pandemic period, to face the crisis.
Emirates airline said it is using the expected profits from the current fiscal year, and has started paying $4 billion to the Dubai government.
According to the Chairman and CEO, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the financial support from the emirate government to the company was about 15 billion dirhams, which came in two tranches during the years 2020 and 2021, as a “lifeline” for one of the largest airlines in the world, at a time when it stopped traveling largely due to pandemic.
Sheikh Ahmed expected that the Dubai-based carrier will make profits this year, and will use it to return the money to the company’s owner, the Dubai government, adding: “This support represented a commitment on the company, and I assure that, starting next year, we will pay all these funds … and they will take place.”
The head of Emirates airlines indicated that American airlines, which had complained for years of unequal competition with the region’s airlines, which are accused of obtaining support from the oil-rich Gulf governments, in turn, resorted to the governments to request rescue packages during the pandemic.
He continued, “They were complaining that we were subsidized, and we know that all the major airlines went to their governments to get support, whether in Europe, America or the Far East.”
In a separate context, Emirates and Royal Air Maroc launched a codeshare partnership that provides more travel options and communication options for customers of both carriers between Dubai and Casablanca and beyond.
It also allows Emirates Airlines customers to reach 17 destinations in Morocco outside Casablanca.
The two airlines will add their marketing codes on each other’s flights between Casablanca and Dubai to a total of 209 joint destinations.
The new partnership, which was signed by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Aviation Authority and Supreme Chairman of the Emirates Airline Group, provides customers of the two airlines with more options to book flights and connect them between their networks.
It also provides them with the most competitive rates for tickets and baggage transfers to their final destinations. Codeshare flights will be available for sale through royalairmaroc.com, emirates.com, travel agents, online travel agents, and through retail sales offices.
