Emirates denies financial assistance from the Dubai Government

Emirates Vice President, Maurice Flanagan, denied the carrier receives financial assistance from the Dubai Government (Arabian Business, 12-May-2010).

Emirates: "In fact we have had USD80 million in cash in kind since the start of the airline 25 years ago. That's absolutely peanuts compared to whatever other national carriers have had. What does Etihad get every year? I was given USD10 million by Sheikh Mohammed to start the airline in 1985 and he said don't come back for any more, no subsidies of any kind, no protectionism whatsoever. They say we don't pay taxes. Of course we pay taxes. Dubai is a city not a country, we pay municipal taxes. We incur social costs these guys don't have to think about. Full family medical service, free furnished accommodation for pilots, cabins crew and managers. These amounted to about USD600m this year, those guys don't have to think about that. Every year we have paid more than USD100m in dividend to the owner of the company," Maurice Flanagan, Vice President. Source: Arabian Business, 12-May-2010.