Emirates Airline has asked its staff to take unpaid leave for up to a month at a time due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus that has led to flight cancellations around the world. Emirates has cancelled flights to Iran, Bahrain and to most of China because of the virus, and countries around the world have placed strict restrictions on the entry of foreigners. According to him, considering the availability of additional resources and the fact that many employees want to utilise their leave, we have provided our employees with the option to avail leave or apply for voluntary unpaid leave for up to one month at a time. Emirates Group, the state-owned holding company that counts the airline among its assets, has asked staff to consider taking paid and unpaid leave as it seeks to manage a “measurable slowdown” in its business, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an internal company email. Major concerts and events in the United Arab Emirates, an air transit centre that includes tourism and business hub Dubai, have been cancelled or postponed as the coronavirus spreads in the Gulf.

Source: Punch March 03, 2020 15:22 UTC