Emirates earlier carried out one of the largest layoff exercises seen in the aviation industry
In what could be a sign of the global aviation sector making some recovery, Emirates has said it will restore basic salaries 'across board' from October 1.
While this will bring relief, as the carrier had recently taken one of the biggest ever layoff exercises seen in the industry, the airline said it will still need to 'adjust' some of the allowances. These are allowances given for accommodation and education.
Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum recently wrote to the employees informing the decision. "You will be relieved to know that from October 1, we are reinstating full basic salaries across the board," he said. At the same time, he added:
"This does not mean we are out of the woods - there are many challenges ahead in an environment of considerable uncertainty, and we will need to respond accordingly and decisively."
The flag carrier of UAE had undertaken drastic steps to cut costs after the disruption caused by COVID-19. This included firing 800 pilots in a day, including 560 on the airline's A380 fleet and 240 on its B777 planes. In total, the airline had planned to reduce its workforce by 30 percent, which is roughly 30,000 people.
The airline, by the end of March itself, had suspended nearly three-fourth of its network and had cut wages by half. Emirates has one of the biggest long haul operations in the global aviation industry.
Green shoots?
Since August though, there have been signs that the Dubai-based airline was again bringing its fleet back to operation, one at a time.
The airline, which has the largest fleet of the jumbo Airbus A380 aircraft, deployed the iconic plan on several international routes including, London, Cairo, Paris and Toronto. Overall, Emirates has said that it expects to get back to its full schedule by the summer of 2021.