REFILE-UPDATE 3-Emirates asks pilots and cabin crew to take unpaid leave

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By Alexander Cornwell and Karen Lema
DUBAI/MANILA, March 18 (Reuters) - Emirates is asking pilots
and cabin crew to take unpaid leave and rival Qatar Airways laid
off about 200 staff in Doha this week as the coronavirus
outbreak hammers demand for travel.
The state-owned airlines have slashed dozens of routes
crucial to their Gulf hubs dependent on millions of passengers
passing through each year.
Dubai's Emirates, one of the world's biggest international
airlines, is offering pilots and cabin crew unpaid leave,
according to internal staff emails seen by Reuters.
"You are strongly encouraged to make use of this opportunity
to volunteer for additional paid and unpaid leave," an email to
pilots said.
There is limited opportunity for unpaid leave for cabin crew
who are being encouraged to take paid leave, another email said.
The airline did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
Tourism and aviation are vital to the economy of Dubai,
which does not have the vast oil wealth of some of its Gulf
neighbours.
Emirates employed over 21,000 cabin crew and 4,000 pilots
among more than 100,000 employees overall at the end of March
2019.
Emirates has told staff the coronavirus epidemic could be
the biggest challenge it has faced in many years, frozen
recruitment and continues to cut flights as the situation
worsens globally. The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said it would bar
entry to foreigners apart from diplomats and
residents. Philippine Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello told Reuters on
Wednesday that the government was trying to ascertain the "real
cause" behind the Qatar Airways' unexpected decision to lay off
about 200 Filipino workers.
Qatar Airways, which employed 46,000 people at the end of
March 2019, declined to comment.
The layoffs were reported earlier by ABS-CBN. It said the
Filipino employees, including engineers and maintenance staff,
were laid off on Tuesday and others had also lost their jobs.
State-owned Qatar Airways had warned it would report its
third consecutive loss this financial year, which ends this
month, before the outbreak battered global travel demand.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, another Gulf carrier, announced
more flight cancellations on Wednesday, including to Egypt and
India.