by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:05 PM ET, Thu May 11, 2017
Middle Eastern airline Emirates announced Thursday that the company's profits fell by more than 80 percent to $340 million last year.
According to The Associated Press, the airline's parent company, the Emirates Group, also revealed that overall profits were down 70 percent to $670 million. Emirates reported earning $1.9 billion during the 2015 fiscal year, but the number dropped to $340 million earned during the period of April 2016 through the end of March 2017.
The airline blamed political upheaval, terrorism and tougher travel restrictions to the United States as reasons behind the drop in profits.
Part of the reason for the decline was the airline cut 20 percent of its 126 weekly flights to the U.S. thanks to tougher security measures.
Officials from Emirates revealed in the company's earnings report that the ban on certain electronic devices in aircraft cabins by the U.S. has been one of the biggest challenges it faced over the last year. In response, the airline began offering complimentary laptop loans on U.S.-bound flights.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Emirates Wins 'Best Airline in the World' TripAdvisor Award[/READMORE]
While profits may have dropped, the Emirates Group is reporting an increase in revenue, jumping from $25.3 billion to around $26 billion. In addition, Emirates carried an estimated 56 million passengers last year, as compared to 52 million the previous year.
Emirates has been talking about dropped routes to the U.S. and decreased profits for weeks, but airlines in America have continued to call out Middle Eastern carriers for receiving money from their respective governments, which make up for any losses the airlines have experienced.
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