In a new communication, Emirates Group said it has received requests from governments and customers to support the repatriation of travellers and therefore its airline will continue to operate passenger and cargo flights to a number of countries "until further notice” providing “borders remain open and there is demand”. 

The airline said it aimed to maintain certain passenger flights for “as long as feasible” to help travellers return home amid “an increasing number of travel bans, restrictions, and country lockdowns across the world”.

Emirates named the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, USA and Canada as destinations it will continue to operate to.

“The situation remains dynamic, and travellers can check flight status on emirates.com,” the carrier said.

Emirates Group chair and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said “the world has literally gone into quarantine due to the Covid-19 outbreak”.

“This is an unprecedented crisis situation in terms of breadth and scale: geographically, as well as from a health, social, and economic standpoint,” he said. 

“As a global network airline, we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot viably operate passenger services until countries re-open their borders and travel confidence returns. By Wednesday, 25 March, although we will still operate cargo flights which remain busy, Emirates will have temporarily suspended most of its passenger operations.

“We continue to watch the situation closely, and as soon as things allow, we will reinstate our services.”

Earlier the group outlined a number of cost-saving measures to help it through the coronavirus pandemic which has triggered a slump in customer demand.

As part of the measures, the group is implementing a temporary reduction of basic salary for the majority of employees for three months, ranging from 25% to 50%. 

Employees will continue to be paid their other allowances during this time and junior-level staff will be exempt from basic salary reduction.

Presidents of Emirates and dnata – Tim Clark and Gary Chapman – will take a 100% basic salary cut for three months.

The group will also postpone or cancel discretionary expenditure; freeze all non-essential recruitment and consultancy work; work with suppliers to find cost savings and efficiencies and encourage employees to take paid or unpaid leave in light of reduced flying capacity.

Emirates said it had “strongly discouraged” its employees from non-essential travel; implemented work from home policies for all employees where operationally feasible; enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols at its facilities; introduced temperature screening at its key office entry points and launched internal educational campaigns on hand hygiene and health practices to reduce risk of Covid-19.
 
Over the past weeks, the airline has also implemented “enhanced cleaning and disinfecting measures” on all of its aircraft departing Dubai as a precaution, and worked closely with airports to implement screening measures as required by the local authorities.
 
Frontline employees such as crew and airport teams have also been provided with support to stay safe while on duty, including providing hand sanitisers and masks where required.

Sheikh Ahmed added: “These are unprecedented times for the airline and travel industry, but we will get through it. Our business is taking a hit, but what matters in the long run is that we do the right thing for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve. With the support and unity that we have seen from our employees, partners, customers, and other stakeholders, I’m confident that Emirates can tackle this challenge and come out stronger.”