Emirates cuts back on flights to US after heightened security
Emirates is cutting the number of flights to the US in a strong sign that new security measures introduced by US president Donald Trump are hitting the operations of the big Gulf carriers. The Dubai-government owned airline blamed its decision on weakened travel demand to the US following tougher measures imposed on US-bound travellers from the Middle East. The move by the Gulf’s biggest airline to reduce the number of weekly services to the US from 126 to 101 comes a month after the US government barred laptops and other electronic devices from being carried in the main cabin on flights from several Middle Eastern and north African countries. Emirates’ hub at Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, is also a main transit point for travellers who were affected by President Trump’s executive orders temporarily halting entry to citizens in six countries. The latest travel ban suspended new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and froze the nation’s refugee programme. Like an earlier ban that also included Iraqi citizens, it has been blocked from taking effect by the courts. Emirates said: “The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US.” Emirates said its US operations had seen healthy growth and performance until the start of 2017. “Over the past three months, we have seen a significant deterioration in the booking profiles on all our US routes, across all travel segments,” the airline said. The reductions will affect five of its 12 US destinations from next month.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2017-04-20/unaligned/emirates-cuts-back-on-flights-to-us-after-heightened-security
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Emirates cuts back on flights to US after heightened security
Emirates is cutting the number of flights to the US in a strong sign that new security measures introduced by US president Donald Trump are hitting the operations of the big Gulf carriers. The Dubai-government owned airline blamed its decision on weakened travel demand to the US following tougher measures imposed on US-bound travellers from the Middle East. The move by the Gulf’s biggest airline to reduce the number of weekly services to the US from 126 to 101 comes a month after the US government barred laptops and other electronic devices from being carried in the main cabin on flights from several Middle Eastern and north African countries. Emirates’ hub at Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, is also a main transit point for travellers who were affected by President Trump’s executive orders temporarily halting entry to citizens in six countries. The latest travel ban suspended new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and froze the nation’s refugee programme. Like an earlier ban that also included Iraqi citizens, it has been blocked from taking effect by the courts. Emirates said: “The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US.” Emirates said its US operations had seen healthy growth and performance until the start of 2017. “Over the past three months, we have seen a significant deterioration in the booking profiles on all our US routes, across all travel segments,” the airline said. The reductions will affect five of its 12 US destinations from next month.<br/>
