Emirates to resume limited service from 6 April

Dubai's national airline Emirates will resume a limited number of outbound passenger flights from the UAE as of 6 April.

"Emirates has received approval from UAE authorities to start flying a limited number of passenger flights," the company's chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said in a Tweet today. He said further details would be forthcoming.

Al-Maktoum, who is also president of Dubai's civil aviation authority, said that Emirates is looking into resuming flights gradually in line with the lifting of travel and operational restrictions.

Emirates suspended all passenger flights from 25 March until at least 30 April in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The UAE temporarily banned all inbound and outbound flights and the transit of airline passengers through its airports, also from 25 March, following a directive from the UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority and the civil aviation authority. That ban was for an initial two-week period.

To help mitigate the slump in passenger demand, Dubai's crown prince Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum has pledged that the government will inject funding into Emirates.

Global and regional flight restrictions have drastcially lowered demand for jet fuel, which is heavily weighing on the Mideast Gulf jet fuel market.

By Sarah Raffoul