Emirates may need to raise cash if air travel does not pick up | Reuters

Emirates may need to raise cash if air travel does not pick up | Reuters

Emirates may need to raise more cash this year, possibly through another equity injection from the Dubai government, if demand for air travel does not pick up soon, its president said on Wednesday.

The state carrier had hoped the global vaccine rollout would renew confidence in air travel but demand remains at very low levels, leaving many airlines to ground planes or fly them near-empty.

“We are good for another six, seven or eight months in terms of cash. We have sufficient cash coming in to be able to keep the day-to-day operation at a neutral basis,” Tim Clark told the online World Aviation Festival.

“But like everybody else, if in six months global demand is where it is today then we are all going to face difficulties. Not just Emirates”

Emirates, which lost 12.6 billion dirhams ($ 3.4 billion) in the first half of the year, got $2 billion in equity in 2020 from the Dubai government, its sole shareholder.