Air Arabia chief says swine flu threat 'contained'

FLU VIEW: Air Arabia's CEO has said that he believes the threat of swine flu to airlines has been contained. (Getty Images)

Customer concerns over the H1N1 flu have subsided and there is currently no major impact of the virus on air travel in the region, the chief executive of Air Arabia has said.

Airline travellers have become more confident after learning more about how to protect themselves against the virus, Adel Ali told Arabian Business on the sidelines of a press conference.

“I think H1N1 has been contained. We have seen people who panicked…gain confidence,” he said.

The company said in August that “many people” were not travelling due fears over swine flu, and said it could be a bigger threat to the industry than the slumping economy.

“There will be a little impact this year on the Hajj season obviously, because some countries decided not to let people go, but overall I don’t think it’s a major threat,” he said.

But he cautioned that things could change “in days and weeks to come”.

Rising passenger numbers should not be taken as a sign that the industry, which is suffering globally from overcapacity, is out of the woods, he said.

“I think times are going to be tough in 2009 but we’re seeing a trend of at least more people travelling, which hopefully will drive the yields up,” he said.

“It’s too early to say that the problems are behind us, but there is certainly at the moment light at the end of the tunnel.”

Global airline industry revenues for the year are expected to fall by $80bn, or 15 percent, to $455 billion compared with 2008 levels, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The industry body last month revised downwards its estimate for global industry losses by $2 billion to $11 billion.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Airline ok, but airport problem
Posted by Joe Karcia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Wednesday 28 October 2009 at 10:20 UAE time


For growth, the airline needs to have a practical and clean new dedicated terminal which should be organised in much more civilised manner. Need proper road infrastructure and possibly better transportation network in Sharjah. A metro/tram from airport to the town?

FlyDubai has all these advantages over it and Air Arabia needs to take these into consideration for further growth and Shj Govt needs to realise these since at the end is owned by Shj Govt.

Its all about convenience, convenience and convenience.

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