Emirates’ first passenger flight is set to take off from Dubai after a week of suspension

• The operation will begin from April 6 and will only carry outbound passengers from the United Arab Emirates.
• The initial flights will commence from Dubai to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich.
• Dubai-owned carrier Emirates grounded passenger operations last week as the UAE halted all passenger flights to fight the spread of Coronavirus.
• The UAE has declared 1,024 coronavirus cases along with 8 deaths, according to Worldometer live data tracker.

Emirates will operate its first passenger flight on April 6, after suspension of operations last week due to Coronavirus. The company said it received approvals to carry passengers on certain flights and initial operations will commence from Dubai to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich.

This will include four flights a week to London Heathrow airport, and three flights a week to the other cities. The flight will only carry outbound passengers from the UAE, along with belly-hold cargo in both directions for the transportation of essential goods.

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“Emirates has received approval from UAE authorities to restart flying a limited number of passenger flights,” its chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, said on Twitter.

He added, “These initial passenger services, although limited to travellers who meet the entry requirements set by the destination countries, will be welcomed by our customers seeking to return home to their countries and families. We would like to thank the UAE government and all our partners for their support in ensuring the smooth operation of our flights.

“While we hope to resume full operations as soon as possible, we acknowledge the challenges faced by many cities in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. Our network can only be restored with the easing of travel restrictions, and we maintain close contact with all authorities for the latest updates. We are working closely with the authorities to resume our services, keeping in mind the safety and wellbeing of our crew and customers at every step of the journey. We continuously review the situation and will announce any additional services as they become available.”

Dubai-owned carrier Emirates grounded passenger operations last week as the UAE halted all passenger flights to fight the spread of Coronavirus. The UAE, which groups seven emirates including Dubai, has declared 1,024 coronavirus cases along with 8 deaths, according to Worldometer live data tracker. It has imposed a sweeping crackdown, including the flight ban and closure of borders.

When Emirates suspended flights, it cut between 25% and 50% of the basic salary of its 100,000-strong staff for three months, saying it wanted to avert layoffs.

Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said Tuesday that Dubai would support the airline by injecting new capital.

Tourism, aviation, hotels and entertainment are key contributors to Dubai’s mostly non-oil economy.


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