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Tourism bodies have warned that travel to the United States
could slow this year due to a perception that it is less
welcoming to travelers than before.
"Although we remain concerned over the impact of any travel
restrictions or closing of borders, we have not seen the
attempted U.S. ban on travel from six countries translate into
an identifiable traffic trend," IATA Director General Alexandre
de Juniac said in a statement on Thursday.
Middle Eastern carriers, among the most affected by the
attempted travel restrictions, saw demand rise 9.5 percent in
February, said IATA, which represents nearly 265 airlines
accounting for 83 percent of global air traffic.
De Juniac also repeated criticism of the way in which
authorities brought in new restrictions on electronic devices
larger than a smartphone from passenger cabins on flights from
certain countries without first consulting the airline industry.
"The introduction of restrictions on the carry-on of large
electronic devices was a missed opportunity and the result was a
measure that cannot stand-up to the scrutiny of public
confidence in the long term," he said.
Europe's aviation regulator on Wednesday voiced concern over the
risk of battery fires in the cargo holds of passenger planes as
a result of the ban.
Overall, capacity in February increased 2.7 percent, leading to
the load factor - a measure of how full planes are - rising 1.6
percentage points to 79.5 percent. IATA said that was the
highest-ever level recorded for a February.
Falling fares have put pressure on airline earnings in recent
months and IATA said it estimates fares have dropped by more
than 10 percent in real terms over the last year.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Georgina Prodhan)
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