Laptop ban hurts booming air travel industry

Airline leaders set to meet in Mexico to discuss US, British security issues

CANCUN: Air travel is heading for a bumper year, but global airline leaders meeting in Mexico are concerned about the impact of an escalating row over laptop bans and rising protectionism.

Although the industry has overcome previous losses to notch up an eighth successive year of profit, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which groups 275 airlines and meets from June 4-6, is now facing new challenges.

The Geneva-based group is at odds with President Donald Trump over efforts to widen a partial US and British security ban on laptops in cabin baggage. It is also worried about what it sees as protectionist rhetoric from Washington and Europe, saying this could temper growth in demand for air travel and freight.

“You see that in Europe, you see that in the US ... Any barrier to borders, we consider as a threat,” IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac told reporters.

IATA said on Thursday that passenger traffic rose 10.7% in April, the fastest rate of growth since April 2011. But restrictions on large electronic devices in the cabin, imposed in March on certain flights, were hitting traffic between the Middle East and the US.

Airlines and airports are waiting to see if the US will extend the restrictions, with the Department of Homeland Security yet to announce a decision.

IATA has proposed more stringent passenger screening as an alternative and has joined European regulators in citing the fire risks of having many lithium-powered devices in the hold.

“We recognise the [security] threat, we have no doubt about that, but we doubt the measure,” said de Juniac, adding the US government now seemed in more of a “listening mode”.

The IATA conference could hear concerns from Middle East carriers who believe they are unfairly targeted by the ban, with Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines among the most affected by restrictions on US-bound flights from some Middle East and North African airports.

US officials have denied targeting any group of airlines or acting over anything other than pressing security concerns.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2017.

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