Emirates Group, the company behind the Middle East’s largest airline, has reported a $6bn (£4.3bn) loss – plunging into the red for the first time in more than 30 years as the coronavirus crisis devastated global travel.

The company behind Emirates airline and airports services firm dnata achieved revenue of just $9.7bn (£6.8bn) during 2020 compared with a figure near $30bn (£21bn) over the previous 12 months.

The losses were driven by the airline which contributed $5.5bn (£3.5bn) to the group total as COVID-19 restrictions took hold across the industry, severely knocking traffic at its Dubai hub base.

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Airline revenue declined by $8.4bn (£5.6bn) as passenger numbers collapsed by 90%, Emirates said, with a 46% fall in operating costs failing to put much of a dent in bolstering its bottom line.

A third of its staff remain on furlough as continued curbs on travel knock demand, especially in the long haul market Emirates is hugely exposed to.

The figures underline the penalty paid by airlines globally during the crisis to date with data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggesting that industry losses topped €125bn in 2020 alone.

In the case of Emirates, it was thrown a $2bn lifeline by Dubai’s government to stave off a cash crunch.

IATA expects airlines to continue to suffer financial losses in 2021, despite vaccination rollouts in many developed countries.

Emirates chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum – the uncle of Dubai’s ruler – said: “Sadly, our industry is not recovering as quickly as hoped.

“Many countries are battling new variants and a third or fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, and international travel is still severely restricted in almost all markets.”

In normal times, Emirates flies to more than 150 cities globally through a fleet of 259 planes and is an important cog in the UAE state’s economy, which has a heavy reliance on tourism and business travel.

Dubai has flung open its doors to tourists since last year and does not require quarantine upon arrival.

This in part, has kept it on the red list for travel for UK residents and those in the United States.

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