UAE carriers, Emirates and Etihad Airways, have once more asked cabin crew to take voluntary unpaid leave as they look to manage the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic, according to internal memos seen by Reuters.
In an internal memo, Emirates crew are told they can take unpaid leave for between one and three months from September 1 to November 30 owing to expected staffing requirements.
Emirates, which in July asked pilots and crew to take four months of unpaid leave, also laid off some crew last week, two sources told Reuters, continuing a redundancy process that started in July.
In an Etihad internal memo, staff were told that the airline has more crew than needed and that many are not being rostered on flights, which is not sustainable for the business.