Emirates resumes flights to Istanbul
The Dubai-based airline recently reported a massive revenue loss for 2020, but continues to rebuild its flight network toward pre-pandemic status.
Emirates will resume flights to Istanbul later this month. The Dubai-based airline reported massive revenue drops in November.
Emirates will restart service to Turkey’s largest city Monday. The airline will fly once from Dubai to Istanbul and once from Istanbul to Dubai each day, according a press release.
In November, Emirates said its revenue for the first six months of the 2020-21 fiscal year fell 75%, or by more than $10 billion. Like other Gulf airlines, Emirates has struggled financially due to the downturn in global travel resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dubai government, which owns Emirates, gave the airline $2 billion to help it stay afloat in August.
The resumption of the Istanbul route brings Emirates’ European destinations to 31. Emirates stopped regularly scheduled passenger flights in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. It resumed some routes in May and has gradually rebuilt its flight network to around 100 destinations. Before the crisis, Emirates flew to more than 150 destinations.
