Emirates may work around US laptop ban
Clark: Ban should be applied to the airline industry universally if there’s risk laptops can be used for terrorist activity
Emirates will adjust its offering if customer demand drops following a US ban on in-flight electronics and called for the measure to be imposed more widely.
The world’s biggest long-haul carrier will be watching bookings to its US destinations “very carefully” to monitor any declines, Emirates President Tim Clark said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Dubai. If there’s a risk that laptops can be used during flights for terrorist activity, then the restriction “should be applied to the airline industry universally”, he said.
The US prohibits travellers on non-stop flights from 10 Middle Eastern airports from bringing large electronics into the aircraft cabin, a rule that was announced last week and came into effect on Saturday. The ban deals an additional blow to Gulf carriers including Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways after US President Donald Trump earlier this year restricted citizens from seven Muslimmajority countries from entering the US.
If customer demand diminishes due to “whatever actions the United States government takes, we will have to adjust accordingly, that’s just good business,” Clark said. Emirates may explore more “creative” ways to work around the ban if it remains in place over the long term, including providing government-approved devices on-board its US-bound flights.
After Trump’s initial executive order banning Muslim entrants, Emirates said the rate of bookings growth dropped. The cumulative effect of the US government’s policies won’t “help” demand for Emirates flights during the peak summer travel season, Clark said.
Still, no changes are planned yet and Emirates expects “robust demand” on its new Athens-Newark route this year. The first 48 hours of the ban’s implementation have proceeded without customer complaints, Clark said.