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Emirates said it was bringing back pilots who were sent on unpaid leave last year after the COVID-19 crisis led to the grounding of the airline’s flights. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: Emirates airline employees in Dubai must return to work from offices by September 12, according to an internal memo seen by Gulf News.

This comes after the carrier said it would reinstate some employee allowances and perks removed last year when the pandemic brought air travel to a halt.

Dubai’s flagship carrier will bring back the accommodation allowance for married couples and also increase annual leave entitlement to largely reverse the cuts made in October 2020, it said in a letter addressed to employees.

Pilots first

In July, Emirates said it was bringing back pilots who were sent on unpaid leave last year after the COVID-19 crisis led to the grounding of the airline’s flights. The carrier was bringing back “70 to 100” pilots a month to operate the A380 jumbo-jets, which are being deployed by Emirates on its busiest routes.

On Wednesday, Emirates announced that it will receive three more A380 aircraft from Airbus this year with its last unit on order scheduled to join its fleet in November, bringing forward the original delivery timeline from June 2022.

Route return

The announcement comes as restrictions are lifted on travel to Emirates’ key markets such as UK and India.

Emirates, which is flying close to its pre-pandemic network, is expected to add more capacity ahead of Expo 2020.

Following the grounding of its passenger fleet in March 2020, Emirates announced temporary pay cuts and implemented work from home for some employees. “The company has strongly discouraged its employees from non-essential travel, implemented work from home policies for all employees where operationally feasible,” said the airline in a statement last year.