Emirates airline posted a $1.6 billion loss in the first half of the financial year, the Dubai-based carrier said Wednesday, as it remains in the red due to the Covid pandemic.

However, revenue was up 86 percent to $5.9 billion and the loss compares to $3.4 billion during the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

"Across the group, we saw operations and demand pick up as countries started to ease travel restrictions," CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said.

Emirates says there is "still some way to go" before it restores its operations to pre-pandemic levels as it posts a first half loss of $1.6 billion
Emirates says there is "still some way to go" before it restores its operations to pre-pandemic levels as it posts a first half loss of $1.6 billion AFP / Justin TALLIS

"This momentum accelerated over the summer and continues to grow steadily into the winter season and beyond.

"While there's still some way to go before we restore our operations to pre-pandemic levels and return to profitability, we are well on the recovery path," he added.

In June Emirates, the biggest airline in the Middle East, announced its first annual loss in more than three decades after the pandemic threw the aviation industry into crisis.

The carrier said then that it had received a capital injection of $3.1 billion from its owner, the government of Dubai, to help it survive the crisis.

Coronavirus