Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways has laid off a large number of employees due to the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered global travel demand, and warned staff to brace for further cuts, according to three sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reports.

The state-owned airline declined to comment. But during a previously unreported US-UAE Business Council webinar on April 29, Etihad Chief Executive Tony Douglas said the airline had made “quite sizeable redundancies”.

Etihad has grounded scheduled passenger flights and temporarily cut wages by as much as 50 per cent. It has said it plans to restart flights from mid-June.