Airline CE blames chaos on US ban, not protests as Trump said

The head of American Airlines said weekend airport chaos stemmed from a “divisive” US travel ban on 7 mostly Muslim countries -- a view that runs counter to president Donald Trump’s effort to blame protesters and a Delta Air Lines computer failure. “Crews, reservations agents and airport teams have witnessed turmoil in our airports that shows how divisive this order can be,” CE Doug Parker said in a letter to employees. “It is the current law of the US, and so long as that is the case, we must comply.” Trump’s edict erased US$3.75b in market value from 5 major US carriers Monday, as concern that the US restrictions would expand or spark retaliation by other nations pushed a Standard & Poor’s airline index to the biggest tumble in 4 months. <br/>