In addition to earlier layoffs, almost 600 UK-based employees of Emirates Airlines could lose their jobs, as the carrier considers reducing its workforce due to dwindling passenger demand.

An internal memo, obtained by the Telegraph, detailed the layoffs. The plan was later independently confirmed by other British media.

“We have to reduce the scale of the operation in order to protect our cash flow and safeguard our business, to ensure that we have a viable future,” the memo states.

According to the document, quarantines, border controls and other travel restrictions had left passenger demand “extremely subdued”.

In July 2020, Emirates announced that they already fired one-tenth of the carrier’s workforce, and this number may rise even further.  

Although Emirates’ network was steadily recovering in the past months, passenger traffic is still far from pre-crisis normal and may take years to recover.