Emirates Forced To Change Crews Over Immigration Ban

 

 

It’s not just passengers whose lives has been disrupted by the executive order signed by President Trump banning travel to the U.S. from seven predominantly Muslim nations.

Emirates Airlines has been forced to change its pilots and cabin crew personnel on flights to the United States in order to comply with the new edict, the carrier told Reuters news agency on Sunday.

Emirates has made "the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements," an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters by email.

Emirates, along with its Middle East counterparts Etihad and Qatar airlines, is already embroiled in a long-running feud with U.S.-based airlines American, Delta and United over the Open Skies Agreement. The U.S. carriers say they have sufficient evidence to show that the three Gulf airlines receive government subsidies from their respective governments that have allowed them to grow at an unfettered rate, skewing the international travel marketplace.

Indeed, Emirates has grown into one of the largest airlines in the world with 23,000 employees. It flies daily to 11 U.S. cities.

A decision regarding the Open Skies Agreements has fallen to the Trump administration, which many believe leans toward pro-American concerns. No timetable has been set to discuss that issue, certainly not in the wake of Friday’s controversial decision by the President to ban entry into the U.S. from seven countries with ties to terrorism – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The ban applies to pilots and flight attendants from the seven countries, even though all flight crew who are not U.S. citizens already need a special visa to enter the country, according to Reuters.

A spokesman for Etihad Airways told Reuters the airline has "taken steps to ensure there will be no issues for flights departing over the coming weeks."

Qatar Airways declined to comment.