Dubai (AFP)
Dubai airline Emirates Airlines announced on Sunday that all commercial flights will be suspended as of Wednesday to help stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Federation of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is one, announced on Friday the first two deaths from the new coronavirus in the country. A total of 153 cases have been recorded, of which 38 have recovered.
"Emirates Airlines will temporarily suspend all commercial flights starting Wednesday, March 25," said Sheikh Ahmed bin Said al-Maktoum, CEO of the largest airline in the Middle East, in a statement. He said cargo flights were maintained.
"We are monitoring the situation closely and will resume our scheduled flights as soon as conditions allow," he added.
"The operations of the Emirates group went well, in terms of financial objectives, until January 2020 but (the pandemic) Covid-19 has ended suddenly and painfully in the past six weeks," the statement said.
To cope with the spread of the new coronavirus, the Gulf countries quickly took restrictive measures, particularly related to air transport.
The Emirates suspended visa issuance at the airport and prohibited the arrival of legal foreign residents currently outside the territory.
They reinforced the precautionary measures on Saturday by announcing "the closure of beaches, parks, swimming pools, cinemas and sports halls".
Emirates, which usually serves 159 destinations, is one of the economic jewels of Dubai, which has become in recent years an important airport hub and a tourist destination.
Tourism increased by 5.1% in 2019 compared to the previous year, with a record figure of 16.73 million visitors.
The city-state is preparing to host the Universal Exhibition from October and aimed, before the cataclysm caused by the new coronavirus, the 20 million visitors in 2020.
© 2020 AFP