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Emirates got a further 2.5 billion dirhams ($681 million) in state support in the first half of the year, the airline said on Wednesday, as it announced first half losses had halved.

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It was the third time since the pandemic started that Dubai government, which owns Emirates, had injected new equity into the airline that, unlike many carriers, lacks a domestic market.

Emirates, which has now received close to $3.8 billion from the government during the pandemic, said that while demand for passenger travel was increasing, it would still take some time for the Gulf carrier to return to profitability.

The airline posted a loss of 5.8 billion dirham ($1.6 billion) for the April - September period, down from 12.6 billion dirham loss it reported for the same period last year.

Revenue surged 86 percent to 21.7 billion dirhams as it carried 6.1 million passengers compared with 1.5 million a year ago.

Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, also a senior member of Dubai’s ruling family, said the Group, which includes the airline and other units, was well on the recovery path.

He said operations and demand across the group, which also includes global airport services company Dnata, was continuing to increase as countries eased travel restrictions.

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