Around 1.000 Emirates Airline pilots are facing difficult times because the carrier intends to send them on unpaid leave for a year. The background to this is that most pilots do not have the citizenship of the United Arab Emirates, but in Dubai this is a prerequisite for the use of state aid programs.

It is not news that Emirates plans to cut jobs. As early as July 2020, CEO Tim Clark said that up to 9.000 jobs were on the verge. Around 1.200 pilots have already been terminated. Many flight attendants were also affected, but the exact number of layoffs in this area is not known. There are currently 104 of 114 Airbus A380s on the ground. Emirates is the world's largest operator of this pattern.

Upon request, a spokesman in Dubai stated, “We can confirm that we have offered some of our pilots 12 months of unpaid leave with the option of an early call back on duty, depending on how quickly demand recovers and meets our operational needs. During the unpaid vacation, the company will continue to provide housing, as well as pay health insurance and other allowances. We continue to do everything we can to protect our talent pool for post-pandemic recovery, but we also need to be aware of the impact of the current situation on our business and cost base. We are implementing various offers across the Group, including unpaid leave and more flexible working time models ”.