Emirates Trims U.S. Flights After Trump Administration Curbs

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Emirates, the Middle East's biggest

 airline, said on Wednesday it is cutting flights to the United States because of 

a drop in demand caused by tougher U.S. security measures and Trump 

administration attempts to ban travelers from Muslim-majority nations.

The decision by the Dubai government-owned carrier is the strongest sign

 yet that the new measures imposed on U.S.-bound travelers from the

 Mideast are taking a financial toll on fast-growing Gulf carriers that have

 expanded rapidly in the United States.

Dubai was one of 10 cities in Muslim-majority countries affected by a 

ban on laptops and other personal electronics in carry-on luggage 

aboard U.S.-bound flights.

Emirates' hub at Dubai International Airport, the world's third 

busiest, is a major transit point for travelers who were affected by

 President Donald Trump's executive orders temporarily halting

 entry to citizens of six countries.

The latest travel ban suspended new visas for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia,

 Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and froze the nation's refugee program. Like an earlier

 ban that also included Iraqi citizens, it has been blocked from taking effect by the courts.

Emirates said the reductions will affect five of its 12 U.S. destinations, starting

 next month. It called the move "a commercial decision in response to

 weakened travel demand" in the three months since Trump took office.

"The recent actions taken by the U.S. government relating to the issuance of

 entry visas, heightened security vetting, and restrictions on electronic devices

 in aircraft cabins, have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand

 for air travel into the U.S.," the carrier said in a statement.

Emirates did not provide financial data for its U.S. operations but said it had

 seen "healthy growth and performance" there until the start of the year.

In the three months Trump has been in office, however, there has been what it

 called "a significant deterioration in the booking profiles on all our U.S. routes, 

across all travel segments."

"Emirates has therefore responded as any profit-oriented enterprise would,

 and we will redeploy capacity to serve demand on other routes on our global

 network," it said.

The cuts will reduce the number of U.S.-bound flights from Dubai to 101, down 

from 126 currently.

Twice daily Emirates flights to Boston, Los Angles and Seattle will be reduced

 to once a day. Daily flights to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando will be pared down

 to five per week.

Like its smaller Gulf rivals Qatar Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways,

 Emirates has ramped up its U.S. presence in recent years and recently

 launched a new service to Newark via Athens.

Several big U.S. carriers have bristled at the Gulf airlines' U.S. push, accusing

 them of flooding the market with capacity while receiving billions of dollars

 of unfair government subsidies. The Gulf airlines deny the allegations.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines both stopped flying to Dubai last year,

 leaving Emirates the only carrier to offer direct U.S. flights to what has

 become the world's busiest airport for international traffic.

By ADAM SCHRECK. AP.