Emirates to start paying back Dubai for its $4-bn lifeline
Long-haul carrier Emirates plans to use projected profits from this fiscal year to pay back the Dubai government some of the nearly $4 billion it pumped into the beleaguered airline during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, its chairman said Tuesday.
The cash infusion of close to 15 billion dirhams ($4 billion), which came in two tranches over 2020 and 2021, provided a lifeline to one of the world’s biggest airlines at a time when travel had come to a near standstill globally due to COVID-19.
Emirates’ CEO and Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the Dubai-based airline expects to see profits this year and will use those earnings to pay back its shareholder, the government.
