Emirates airline announces 'significantly' lower USD 1.1 billion annual loss

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Emirates airline announced a "significantly reduced" annual loss of $1.1 billion dollars on Friday, down from $5.5 billion a year earlier, as pandemic travel restrictions ease.

Losses came in at 3.9 billion dirhams ($1.1 billion) in the 2021-2022 financial year to March, with revenues up 91 percent, as the airline expanded its global capacity and reinstated flights, Emirates said in a statement.

The carrier said it received a capital injection of $954 million from its owner, the government of Dubai, to help it survive the crisis.

"This year, we focussed on restoring our operations quickly and safely wherever pandemic-related restrictions eased across our markets," said its chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum.

"Business recovery picked up pace, particularly in the second half of the year. Robust customer demand drove a huge improvement in our financial performance compared to our unprecedented losses of last year and we built up our strong cash balance."

Over the fiscal year, Emirates carried 19.6 million passengers, up by 197 percent from the same period the previous year.

"2021-22 was also a significant year as the UAE marked its 50th anniversary and hosted the world at Expo 2020 Dubai which generated increased global engagement and visitation to the UAE," Sheikh Ahmed said.