UAE - Mubasher: Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways have requested their cabin crew to take voluntary unpaid leave, as the companies are trying to reduce their costs to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Reuters reported.
Emirates has asked its crew to take an unpaid vacation between one and three months from September to November after giving its pilots four-month unpaid leave in July, according to internal memos and sources familiar with the matter.
In addition, the airline has reportedly decided to cut jobs last week.
As for Etihad, the staff was notified in an email that the airline has more crew than needed and was requested to have unpaid leave between 10 days to six months starting 16 September.
In March, Etihad also asked the crew to take unpaid leave.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aviation industry has been hit due to the suspension flights and lockdown, pushing airline companies across the world to lay off thousands of jobs to reduce costs.
It is noteworthy to mention that in the first half (H1) of 2020, Etihad's operating losses rose by $172 million to $758 million, compared to $586 million in the year-ago period.
