The repayments will be in the form of dividends to the government during the current financial year, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed said at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Tuesday. The airline's current financial year runs until March 31, 2023.
He did not say how much of the total amount would be repaid this year.
"It was equity to the company, this is why I'm saying ... we will be paying back all that money," he told reporters at a media round table.
Like many of its global peers, Emirates received a capital injection from its Dubai government owner during the two years of the pandemic to weather the effects of the global crisis that at its peak brought international travel to a near standstill.
The state-owned airline will begin repaying the amount as air travel demand rebounds.
Emirates will reach 100 per cent of its capacity by the end of the year, up from the 75 per cent to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels at which it is currently operating, Sheikh Ahmed said.
The airline, which previously said it would return to annual profitability in 2023, is profitable so far in its current financial year, the chairman said.
"I see Emirates at the start of the financial year until today, they are doing good, they are profitable and so far, so good," he said. "We hope that by the end of the financial year to make profit and also pay our owner back."
Sheikh Ahmed expects the Fifa World Cup hosted by Qatar this year to have a positive spillover effect that would benefit Dubai and the region.
"We hope that it will be a successful event and everybody in the region will be able to benefit from that," he said. "We hope that many people visiting Qatar for the World Cup will be able to come and stay here, travel from here to Qatar back and forth."
Dubai's hospitality industry, which has more than 130,000 hotel rooms, is one of the sectors that stands to benefit.
Sheikh Ahmed said: "I'm sure Dubai should do very well because they have the hotel rooms, we're talking about 130,000-plus rooms in Dubai, that could be something that would help Doha, the game, visitors and logistics people to tap into Dubai and the facilities here."
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline speaks with reporters at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Tuesday, May 10, 2022. AP
Sheikh Ahmed suggested that demand would be able to withstand the higher oil prices in the market.
"When you think of the supply of fuel and how expensive it is, yes it will always be reflected on the airline," he said. "It is not the first time that something like this happened — we saw oil prices at $140 a barrel years ago and we saw prices as low as $50 to $60."
Emirates remains bullish on pent-up demand for travel and has started repair work on one of its two runways a year earlier in anticipation of rising demand as markets around the world ease their Covid-related restrictions, Sheikh Ahmed said.
"This is why we time it between now and the peak of the summer traffic," he said. "It is early by one year."
The refurbishment of the northern runway at the Dubai International Airport began on Monday and is set for completion on June 22. As a result of the work, the world’s busiest international airport will be reduced to a one-runway operation.
Emirates is hiring more staff across every segment of the company from cabin crew to ground handling and its training centre is at maximum capacity, Sheikh Ahmed said. Staffing stands at about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
The airline has an appetite to hire 8,000 to 10,000 crew to operate its A380 superjumbos but is constrained by how soon it can rehire some of the pilots it let go, retrain staff and cope with the changes in the labour market after the pandemic, Emirates airline president Tim Clark said in March.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Ahmed said he has not had any discussions with the Dubai government regarding a public listing of the Emirates group's business units.
"I will always leave it to the government of Dubai to decide which company or which sector [will be listed]," he said.
Dubai, which aims to boost its stock market amid a growing appetite for initial public offerings in the region, revealed plans last year to list 10 state-owned companies as part of its strategy to double the size of its capital market to Dh3 trillion and attract foreign investment.
In terms of the fleet, the airline will have to adjust plans for phasing out older aircraft to deal with further delays by US plane maker Boeing to the first deliveries of its new 777X models, Sheikh Ahmed said. However, Emirates has not reached a stage of talking to the manufacturer about compensation for the delays, he said.
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Manchester City 3
Danilo (16'), Bernardo Silva (34'), Fernandinho (72')
Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at. Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti withCoastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
