FARNBOROUGH: The Middle East’s aviation sector is open for business, aviation executives representing regional businesses, including Emirates’ President Tim Clark, said on Tuesday, seeking to ease worries about spiraling conflict.
Middle Eastern carriers have seen their traffic drop since the Israel-US war on Iran began on Feb. 28, with some cutting capacity in an effort to shield themselves from spiraling costs.
But at Farnborough, regional leaders stressed that the Middle Eastern aviation business is going strong. “I think the closer you are to the center of the Gulf operation, the more normal you realize things are,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai airports.
Qatar Airways canceled its attendance at the show after the death of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, while Etihad’s Chief Executive Antonoaldo Neves also pulled out of attending the airshow on Monday.
Traffic has steadily recovered for many of the region’s core carriers, as Emirates’ Clark said the sector has to “think positive, act positive, be positive,” when it comes to projecting the region’s recovery. Clark added that the carrier has no plans to defer orders and that ambitions to open a new airport in the UAE in 2032 were still on track.
