Trump's travel ban forces Emirates to cut flights to US
Emirates announced that it would be reducing the frequency of flights to 5 US cities from May. This comes as a direct effect of the new security laws targeting Middle East travellers. The Dubai-based airline said there was a weaker demand for US travel and that since last month market to the US had plummeted by about a 3rd since Trump's decisions.
Trump imposes ban on people from Gulf countries
Shortly after coming to power, President Trump's administration issued orders to temporarily stop travel from various Muslim nations. The order was halted by the courts. Furthermore, Trump's administration stated that travelers on direct flights to the US from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to keep laptops, tablets, and cameras in checked baggage.
Trump's restrictions on travel cost $200 million to travel companies
According to the Global Business Travel Association, the first week after Trump's 27 January travel ban, the "US lost nearly $200 million in business travel bookings".
US tourism too suffers at the hand of bans
Not just the carriers, tourism in the US too seems to have taken a hit. Travel companies predict that in 2017, less than 300,000 international travelers will visit New York. International meeting convening every year have moved their venues to Canada or to Mexico. In February, a report suggested that "travel bookings to the US were down 6.5 percent".
Travel limitations hit the Gulf carriers
Reportedly, the new travel measures imposed took a financial toll on Gulf carriers which had expanded rapidly into the US. Emirates revealed that post-January's travel prohibitions there had been a "35% decline in ticket bookings." A Gulf News report said bookings for flights from the Middle East to America had dropped by 5.7% and bookings for Middle East-bound flights had also fallen by 27%.
