Emirates has received US$2 billion from the government of Dubai as it faces a cash crunch caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Aviation has been one of the worst-hit industries during the pandemic and Emirates has cut thousands of jobs as it tries to manage the crisis.
In the documents, the government agreed to provide US$2 billion to the airline it owns after Dubai’s crown prince in March promised equity to Emirates to see it through the crisis.
However, no such injection has been publicly announced by the government or the airline.
The details were disclosed in a prospectus for a potential bond issuance by the Dubai government.
The department of finance declined to comment. Dubai’s state media office and airline did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
In May, Emirates said it planned to raise debt to manage the impact of the pandemic. It raised around US$1 billion in the first quarter.
This month it asked cabin crew to take voluntary unpaid leave, and sources have said a redundancy process that began in July is continuing, with more staff to be laid off this month.
