Etihad Airways has told its employees that it will cut salaries by up to 50 percent for a month due to the consequences of the Corona virus.


An internal e-mail seen by Reuters reported that executives, pilots and engineers will receive half of their basic salaries and hospitality for salaries will be reduced by 25 percent in April.


The letter said that other employees will also be subject to lower salaries, and that workers will not receive their usual allowances for transportation, etc.


"We will need to take some tough measures to weather the storm and avoid losing jobs as much as possible," said Tony CEO Douglas in another email to employees.


The Abu Dhabi government-owned carrier, which will suspend all passenger flights for two weeks from Wednesday, has yet to respond to a request for comment.


The UAE announced earlier that all passenger flights would be suspended for two weeks to contain the spread of the virus, which causes two deaths and 153 infections in the Gulf Arab country.


Douglas said last week that Etihad, which has already suspended flights to dozens of destinations due to the virus, would survive the epidemic crisis.


The airline announced this week a loss of $ 870 million in 2019, its fourth annual loss in a row. The accumulated losses have reached $ 5.6 billion since 2016.


On Sunday, Emirates Airlines in Dubai, which is the largest Emirati airline, said it would impose a temporary reduction in basic salaries for most employees by rates between 25 and 50 percent.