The U.S. economy is set to lose billions of dollars in revenue in 2025 from a pullback in foreign tourism and boycotts of American products, adding to a growing list of headwinds keeping recession risk elevated. Arrivals of non-citizens to the U.S. by plane dropped almost 10% in March from a year earlier, according to data published Monday by the International Trade Administration. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates in a worst-case scenario, the hit this year from reduced travel and boycotts could total 0.3% of gross domestic product, which would amount to almost US$90b. Foreign tourism has been a tailwind for the U.S. in recent years as the cessation of pandemic-era restrictions sparked a resurgence of international travel. But many potential visitors are now rethinking their vacation plans amid increased hostility at the border, rising geopolitical frictions and global economic uncertainty. One of them is Curtis Allen, a Canadian videographer who cancelled an upcoming U.S. vacation after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs on his home country and suggested it should become the 51st U.S. state. Allen and his partner have been on multiple camping trips to Oregon over the years, but this year, they will be travelling around British Columbia instead.<br/>
general
The effects of US tariffs on global airlines are likely to be similar in scope and duration to the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, but carriers will adapt quickly and are "cautiously optimistic" about the outlook for the year, the head of the International Air Transport Association said. Having learnt lessons from past crises, airlines will respond with speed and flexibility to tariff disruptions by shifting capacity from markets where demand has decreased into areas that continue to grow, Willie Walsh, director general of Iata, told The National on Tuesday. "Depending on what the uncertainty eventually is, it's probably somewhere near the impact we witnessed following the tragic events of 9/11, which was significant in terms of transatlantic traffic, but short-lived, and the market recovered within a few months," he said on the sidelines of the annual Iata World Cargo Symposium in Dubai. "I don't see it having the same impact as the global financial crisis and certainly nowhere close to what we witnessed during the pandemic." The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on goods from trading partners worldwide, leading to fears for the US and global economies, before this month suspending most for 90 days. In this year's first and second quarters, most transatlantic markets, with the exception of US-Canada routes, are still growing, with US-Middle East travel demand rising 8 per cent from the same period in 2024, according to Iata. "You won't see airlines panicking because there's no reason to at the moment, because demand remains quite strong and that's true on the passenger side and cargo side," Mr Walsh said. "They will monitor very closely what the trends are going forward."<br/>
A sandstorm swept through Iraq, filling the air with choking dust that closed airports and put more than 3,700 people in hospital with breathing difficulties, the health ministry said Tuesday. Visibility fell to less than one kilometre (barely half a mile) in central and southern cities as the storm cloaked the region in an eerie orange haze, AFP photographers reported. Basra and Najaf airports both closed for the duration of the storm, which began to dissipate on Tuesday morning. Health ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr said Basra was the worst-hit province, accounting for more than 1,000 of the 3,747 hospital admissions attributed to the sandstorm. Many of those who dared to venture out in Basra wore face masks to protect themselves from the choking dust, an AFP photographer reported.<br/>
The General Civil Aviation Authority has announced the resumption of flights between the UAE and Syria. The GCAA said on Monday that the countries are co-ordinating to restart flights between them “in a manner that enhances air traffic and supports passenger and cargo movement”. The decision came after Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara visited the UAE on Sunday for the first time since taking office. He met President Sheikh Mohamed, who said the UAE would “spare no effort in providing all possible support to Syria” and help the country to rebuild. Countries had suspended flights to and from Syria during the civil war, but some have resumed routes since the removal of Bashar Al Assad from the Syrian presidency in December. Turkish Airlines resumed flights to Damascus on January 23, while Qatar Airways restarted on January 7.<br/>
China has ordered its airlines not to take further deliveries of Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab jets in response to the U.S. decision to impose 145% tariffs on Chinese goods, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Shares of Boeing — which considers China one of its biggest growth markets and where rival Airbus holds a dominant position — were down 0.5% in midday trading. The global aerospace industry is being dragged into a U.S.-led trade war, with planemakers, airlines and suppliers reviewing contracts worth billions of dollars, after U.S. supplier Howmet Aerospace ignited debate over who should bear the cost of the tariffs. Confusion over changing tariffs could leave aircraft deliveries in limbo, with some airline CEOs saying they would defer delivery of planes rather than pay duties. China's top three airlines - Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines - had planned to take delivery of 45, 53 and 81 Boeing planes respectively between 2025 and 2027. Beijing has also asked that Chinese carriers halt purchases of aircraft-related equipment and parts from U.S. companies, the Bloomberg report said. Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the report. Two aerospace industry sources told Reuters they had not been alerted independently to a blanket ban by China on U.S. aircraft parts. Analysts said a short-term halt in deliveries to China would not have a major impact on Boeing, since the planemaker could redirect those jets to other airlines and because Airbus does not have capacity to supply the country alone. China would have more difficulty banning imports of new U.S. parts to support its existing fleet of aircraft, including China’s C919.<br/>
Europe's Airbus reaffirmed forecasts for the year but cautioned on Tuesday that it was still assessing the impact of trade tensions on its operations - simultaneously hit by an engine shortage that has forced it to store up undelivered jets. Guillaume Faury, CEO of the world's largest planemaker, told shareholders Airbus was grappling with a narrowing set of supply problems while looking for clarity on how tariffs would affect costs, deliveries and the fate of a recent boom in jet demand. "Understanding and anticipating what the (tariff) situation will mean for demand ... that's something we need to understand better and then adapt our plans for 2025 and beyond, if and as much as necessary, as things clarify and stabilise," he said. "There's a lot of things happening and we are assessing with our supply chain, with our customers, with our plants, what this is likely to mean and what are the mitigations," he added. Faury was speaking in Amsterdam shortly before being elected for a third three-year term at the helm of Europe's largest aerospace company, which has overtaken Boeing in civil jet output as the U.S. planemaker deals with an internal crisis. He reiterated that 2025 guidance in February did not include the impact of what - at that time - were potential new tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping import duties this month before partly suspending his reciprocal tariffs for 90 days for most countries. The European Union is expected to hit back at some industries, with the combined tensions broadening airlines' concerns over the impact on jet deliveries.<br/>
Airbus expects to finalise an agreement to buy part of the assets of Spirit AeroSystems by the end of the April and close the deal by mid-year, "ideally by June 30", CFO Thomas Toepfer told shareholders. Airbus has been negotiating for around a year to take over work carried out by at least four plants as part of a rare carve-up of the struggling aerostructures company with rival U.S. planemaker Boeing.<br/>