Emirates keen on operating at full capacity
Gulf carrier Emirates, which currently serves nine destinations under the air bubble pact with India, is looking forward to operate at its full capacity in the country once the conditions permit and is in close contact with Indian authorities for the same.
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: Gulf carrier Emirates, which currently serves nine destinations under the air bubble pact with India, is looking forward to operate at its full capacity in the country once the conditions permit and is in close contact with Indian authorities for the same.
The coronavirus pandemic has crippled the aviation sector, which is slowly on the recovery mode amid easing of restrictions, including travel curbs.
Against this backdrop, Emirates Vice President, India & Nepal, Mohammad Sarhan said the airline has ramped up flight frequencies globally and expects to return to profitability over the next 18 months.
"In line with the easing of travel restrictions worldwide, we've ramped up flight frequencies across our network and deployed our iconic A380 aircraft on 25 destinations.
"We're well on the path to recovery. We've restored 90 per cent of our pre-pandemic network, and we expect to return to profitability over the next 18 months," he told PTI.
He also said that last month, the airline announced it will be retrofitting 105 aircraft in its fleet with the "highly lauded" premium economy class cabin, taking the travel experience to new levels.
Currently, the airline serves nine destinations in India, utilising its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. These services are being operated under the air bubble arrangement between India and UAE.
"Given the latest developments, we are in close contact with the local authorities, and we look forward to operating at full capacity once conditions allow us to do so," Sarhan said.
Under an air bubble agreement between two countries, international passenger flights can be operated by their respective carriers to each other's territories subject to certain conditions.
Scheduled international commercial flights to and from India remain suspended since March 2020 in the wake of the pandemic and the suspension has been extended till January 31, 2022. Currently, overseas flights are operated under bilateral air bubble agreements with various countries.
India has air bubble agreements with 34 countries, as per the civil aviation ministry website.
