Emirates airline posts first loss in more than 30 years

Dubai-based Emirates airline on Thursday posted a $3.4 bn half-year loss, its first in more than three decades, saying it had been badly hit by the global lockdown that brought air transport to "a literal standstill".

"In this unprecedented situation for the aviation and travel industry, the Emirates Group recorded a half-year loss for the first time in over 30 years," the airline's chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said in a statement.