Emirates, Etihad ask crew to take more unpaid leave as virus saps travel demand

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has asked its crew members to take voluntary unpaid leave again, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic weighs heavily on the aviation sector.

“We can confirm that we had offered cabin crew the opportunity to apply for voluntary unpaid leave. We will not be providing figures on employee take-up,” an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement to Gulf Business.

Emirates crew were told they can take unpaid leave for between one and three months, starting September 1 to November 30, owing to expected staffing requirements, by way of an internal memo, Reuters has reported.

Earlier this month, Emirates’ COO, Adel al Redha asserted that the airline aims to serve 100 per cent of its network destinations, tantamount to 143 cities, by summer 2021.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates to serve 100% of network destinations by summer 2021 – COO

With the resumption of passenger services to Conakry, Guinea and Dakar, Senegal, Emirates will stretch its network to 77 cities in September.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates to resume passenger services to Conakry, Dakar

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has also issued a similar directive, asking its staff to take voluntary unpaid leave, as the airline has more crew than currently needed, many of whom are not being rostered on flights, which is unsustainable in the ongoing economic climate.

Crew members could take between 10 days to six months of unpaid leave starting September 16.

Etihad had initially asked its cabin crew to take paid leave between April 6-May 5, in March this year.

Read: Update: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad asks cabin crew to take paid leave

Etihad Airways reported a 50 per cent dip in passengers numbers during H1 2020, having ferried 3.5 million customers, compared to 8.2 million in H1 2019.

Read more: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad registers 58% dip in passenger numbers for H1 2020

Etihad hasn’t responded to a request for comment.