U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to block all refugees from coming to the United States for 120 days and suspended the entry for citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. Airlines and airports are prepared according to the new travel ban.
Emirates has amended pilot and cabin crew rosters for services to the US , while Etihad had offered refunds or re-bookings to affected passengers. To date, no Emirates crew has been affected by the change. We have made the necessary adjustments to our staffing to comply with the latest requirements. Emirates continues to operate flights to the US, as scheduled," a Emirates’ spokesman reported to Khaleej Times.
Other airlines also had to make changes in accordance with the new order. The Qatar Airways, the EgyptAir and Dutch airline KLM turned away immigrants from boarding US-bound flights, according to media reports.
Major Australian airline Qantas announced that it would offer refunds or a change of destination to their passengers in case they were affected by Trump's order.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Saturday and Sunday turned away seven people with valid visas, and Cairo denies boarding to migrants accompanied by United Nations officials.
Turkey wasn't on Trump's list of banned countries, but is a major hub for travel in and out of the Middle East. As a result, on Sunday at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, dozens of people were stopped from flying to the United States. One 32-year-old Syrian man, Nail Zain, told Reuters he arrived at the airport expecting to fly to Los Angeles, but officials prevented him from boarding, saying his visa was canceled.
Throughout the U.S., security officials detained 109 people arriving from the seven countries, including some legal U.S. residents, until judges in Brooklyn, New York; Alexandria, Virginia; and Boston intervened. The Boston ruling, issued Sunday, requires U.S. officials to let passengers from all seven countries who have valid visas deplane and go on their way, though the ruling applies only in Boston.
