After US had announced to ban electronic devices larger than cellphones, from flights coming from 10 international airports in eight Muslim countries, it was feared that traffic from Dubai airport will be adversely affected. Turkish Government has already requested the US Homeland Security to reconsider its decision for Turkey. UAE now world’s biggest hub of international flights, and the producer of the most luxurious and popular airlines, Etihad and Emirates, has been predicted to face a significant loss in its number of passengers.
However, Paul Griffith, Chief Executive of Dubai Airports, said the ban will not significantly affect the number of passengers. Flights from Dubai airport depart to 12 US cities on a daily basis, but he said: “If we are very, very diligent in both communicating exactly what the restrictions are and actually have an efficient process to deal with the situation, I don’t suggest it will have an impact on numbers.”
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Industry experts had said, after the ban is implemented on Saturday 25, that businessmen whose work is dependent on electronic devices, especially laptops may switch to unaffected flight carrier. Mr. Griffith admits: “very tiny proportion” may choose to switch airlines.
Dubai International is the world’s busiest international airport which is targeting 89 million passengers this year.
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Clark, who called the ban disruptive, said the airlines are “closely monitoring the business impact of this new security measure, and we will decide on our strategies and interventions accordingly.”
Moreover, Britain is also banning most passengers from carrying electronic devices on flights from certain countries in the Middle East, following in US’s footsteps.