DUBAI: Emirates is to reduce the number of flights it operates by nearly a third for 45 days next year when one of two runways at Dubai International Airport is closed for upgrade work, the airline said on Thursday.
The southern runway will be closed from April 16 to May 30, 2019 for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting and other infrastructure.
Dubai International, which handled 88.2 million passengers in 2017, is the base for airlines Emirates and flydubai, and an engine for Dubai’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism and travel.
“Emirates can confirm that it will be required to reduce its operating schedule by approximately 28 percent during this time,” said an airline spokeswoman in a statement.
Emirates will cancel some flights, reduce the number of flights to certain destinations and reschedule others during the upgrade work, said the spokeswoman.
Emirates, which carried 58.5 million passengers in the last financial year, is one of the world’s biggest airlines.
Flydubai said on Thursday it would move some flights to Dubai’s second airport, Al Maktoum International, during the temporary closure of the southern runway.
Dubai International operated with one runway for 80 days in 2014 because of upgrade and repair work on both its runways. That closure cost the Emirates Group an estimated $467 million in lost revenue, according to its financial statements.
Emirates to reduce flights during Dubai airport runway closure next year
Emirates to reduce flights during Dubai airport runway closure next year
- Dubai International, which handled 88.2 million passengers in 2017, is the base for airlines Emirates and flydubai
- The southern runway will be closed from April 16 to May 30, 2019 for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting
No Saudi acquisition offers: FC Barcelona tells Al-Eqtisadiah
CAIRO: FC Barcelona has not received any offers, whether from Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to acquire the club, according to an official source who spoke to Al-Eqtisadiah.
According to the source, the circulating news regarding the possibility of finalizing a deal to acquire the club in the coming period is a mere rumor.
Recent Spanish reports had indicated the possibility of a Saudi acquisition of Barcelona shares for around €10 billion ($11.7 billion), a move considered capable of saving the club from its financial crises if it were to happen, especially as it suffers from debts estimated at around €2.5 billion.
Sale not in management’s hands
Joan Gaspart, the former president of the club, confirmed that the current board of directors, chaired by Joan Laporta, does not have the right to dispose of the club’s ownership.
He added: “FC Barcelona is owned by about 150,000 members, and selling the club is something the owners will not accept. FC Barcelona possesses something no other club in the world has; money is very important, and so is passion, but the sentiment of the members today is to continue what the club has been for 125 years.”
High market value
Despite the financial crisis the club has been going through in recent years, FC Barcelona ranks sixth on the list of the world’s highest market value clubs, with an estimated value of €1.12 billion, according to Transfermarkt. Meanwhile, its rival Real Madrid tops the list with a market value of €1.38 billion.
