Dubai (AFP)

Dubai decided on Tuesday to support Emirates with a capital injection intended to help the air carrier to get through the crisis of the new coronavirus which forced it to suspend its passenger flights.

Emirates Airlines, with its fleet of 271 wide-body aircraft, is the largest airline in the Middle East and a centerpiece of the economy of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates in general.

"The Dubai government is committed to fully supporting Emirates at this critical time and will inject capital into the company," said the emirate's crown prince Sheikh Hamdane ben Mohammed ben Rached Al-Maktoum on Twitter.

"Emirates, our national carrier, has made Dubai a global hub for air transport and has great strategic value being one of the main pillars of Dubai's economy, as well as the economy of the United Arab Emirates in general ", he added.

The Crown Prince of Dubai did not give details on the scale of the intervention, but said other details would be announced later.

Emirates, which has the world's largest fleet of giant A-380 aircraft with 113 units, suspended passenger flights last week as the United Arab Emirates took steps to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

The carrier cut costs by lowering the base wages of most of its 100,000 employees by 25 to 50 percent, stressing that the move was to avoid layoffs.

The company carried around 90 million passengers last year and is one of the few to make profits in recent years.

The Arab Air Transport Organization (AACO) has urged regional governments to urgently provide financial assistance to domestic airlines, in addition to tax breaks and waivers of fees.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated last week that Middle East airline revenues are expected to drop by $ 19 billion in 2020, down 39% from last year.

"The airline industry is facing its most serious crisis ... For the airlines, it's Apocalypse Now," said IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac.

The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven members including Dubai, reported 611 cases of Covid-19 and five deaths.

They have taken numerous steps to curb the spread of the pandemic, including closing their borders and stopping passenger flights.

© 2020 AFP