
Emirates Group offering unpaid leave to employees in non-operational roles and may offer it to operational staff/Bloomberg
by Kudakwashe MuzoriwaDubai’s Emirates Group, which runs the world’s biggest airline by international traffic, is encouraging staff to take leave as the coronavirus outbreak slows demand for travel.
The state-owned holding company that counts Emirates Airlines among its assets, had more than 100,000 employees, including more than 21,000 cabin crew and 4,000 pilots in March 2019, the end of its last financial year.
In a statement, Emirates Airlines said that it has seen a measurable slow-down in business across its brands and a need for flexibility in the way it operates.
The airline asked employees to consider taking paid or unpaid leave. Additionally, Emirates Group also asked staff who have accrued a significant balance of annual leave to consider taking paid leave.
Reuters reported that the company is also offering unpaid leave to employees in non-operational roles and may offer it to operational staff.
Emirates halted most flights to China and suspended operations to Iran, the epicentres of the coronavirus. It also stopped flying tourists from more than 20 countries to Saudi Arabia, the carrier’s biggest market in the Middle East.
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