The Emirates Group today announced its half-year results for its 2021/2022 financial year…reports Asian Lite News
Group revenue was AED24.7 billion (US$6.7 billion) for the first six months of this year, up 81 percent from AED13.7 billion ($3.7 billion) during the same period last year.
This strong revenue recovery was underpinned by the easing of travel restrictions worldwide and the corresponding increase in demand for air transport as countries progressed their COVID-19 vaccination programmes.
The Group also reported an EBITDA of AED5.6 billion ($1.5 billion), illustrating its strong return to operating profitability.
H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said, “As we began our 2021-22 financial year, COVID-19 vaccination programmes were being rolled out at unprecedented scale around the world. Across the Group, we saw operations and demand pick up as countries started to ease travel restrictions. This momentum accelerated over the summer and continues to grow steadily into the winter season and beyond.
“Our cargo transport and handling businesses continued to perform strongly, providing the bedrock upon which we were able to quickly reinstate passenger services. While there’s still some way to go before we restore our operations to pre-pandemic levels and return to profitability, we are well on the recovery path with healthy revenue and a solid cash balance at the end of our first half of 2021-22.”
Sheikh Ahmed also thanked the customers for their continued support, as well as all the aviation and travel industry stakeholders and partners for their efforts that have made it possible for international air travel to resume safely and smoothly.
“Our ability to pivot and pull through the toughest period in our history to date, can be attributed to Emirates’ and dnata’s strong brands, high quality products and services, digital and innovation capabilities, and our amazing people. We intend to continue investing in these core areas to take our business into the future, together with the leaner processes and new technology capabilities that we’ve implemented in the past months,” Sheikh Ahmed added.
UAE’s aviation activity rose 24.5 percent
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced that the average aviation activity in the country rose from 1,238 flights at the end of 2020 to 1,538 flights in September 2021, an increase of some 24.5 percent.
Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General, said that the aviation activity in the UAE witnessed a significant increase prior to the Expo 2020 Dubai, as it is a major global event that showcases the UAE to the entire world.
In his statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Suwaidi stressed the national civil aviation sector has recovered and the aviation activity figures recorded in recent months are promising. They are expected to rise further during the expo and the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebration and the start of the winter holidays, despite the strict preventive measures adopted by the country to ensure everyone’s safety.
The GCAA’s report also showed the country’s national carriers travel to 108 countries, benefitting from the logistical services provided by ten registered airports. It also highlighted the significance of the national aviation sector, which contributed US$47.4 billion to the national economy, accounting for 13.3 percent of the country’s GDP, in addition to creating 800,000 jobs.
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According to the report, the Emirati aviation market is among the world’s leading markets to attract capital and investments. It also confirms that the GCAA supported the strategic partners and national carriers during the critical period when the COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire world, which allowed the sector to regain its previous operational levels. For example, Emirates Airlines and flydubai are now operating in 90 percent of their destination networks.
The UAE’s civil aviation safety system, considered the best globally, performs a key role in ensuring cooperation between all national strategic partners. Under this context, the UAE has accomplished several unprecedented achievements, most notably achieving a 98.86 percent compliance rate in aviation safety monitoring by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The UAE has consistently maintained the first position in ICAO audits of 133 countries until 2021, by utilising innovation and development and focussing on performance.