UAE to suspend passenger flights for 2 weeks after Emirates halts most operations

Dubai — The UAE is suspending all passenger flights for two weeks from Wednesday, except emergency evacuation and cargo flights, as Emirates halts most of its operations marking the country's worst aviation crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"The National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management and the Civil Aviation Authority have decided to suspend all inbound and outbound passenger flights and the transit of airline passengers in the UAE for two weeks as part of the precautionary measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19," both bodies said in a statement posted early Monday on state-run Wam news agency.

"The decision, which is subject to re-assessment, will take effect in 48 hours."

Emirates said it was suspending all passenger flights, except cargo, as of March 25 for two weeks and will implement salary cuts among other measures to stay afloat.

Dubai International Airport, the home of Emirates, retained last year its title as the busiest hub for international travel, despite a 3.1% drop in passenger numbers to 86.4 million, which was attributed to global market conditions and the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Emirates, the biggest operator of A380 super jumbo jets and Boeing's 777, carried 29.6 million passengers between April 1 and September 30 of 2019, down 2% from the year earlier period. The volume of cargo handled during that period was 1.2 million tons, a 8% drop from a year earlier.

Jet Fuel

The suspension of passenger flights is bound to hit jet fuel demand.

"We estimate jet fuel demand for UAE was at least 180,000 b/d in 2019, accounting for more than 30% of the jet fuel consumption in the Middle East region and more than 2.5% of the global jet fuel demand," according to S&P Global Platts Analytics. The demand does not include refueling aboard of UAE's international flights, it said. "Given the increasing connectivity of UAE's international flights in different regions, we understand the impact of suspending will likely dampen the global jet fuel demand more than that to the ME regional demand."

In Emirate's first half financial results for April-September of 2019, fuel was the largest component of the airline's cost, accounting for 32% of operating costs.

The UAE is close to shutdown, with the Ministry of Interior and the National Emergency and Crisis and Disasters Management Authority urging citizens, visitors and residents to stay indoors unless they need to get essential supplies, such as food and medicine.