Dubai International airport saw passenger traffic to North America decline for March as the impact of travel and laptop bans starts to be felt.
The drop comes despite Dubai retaining its position as the world’s number one airport for international passenger numbers.
The airport’s traffic rose 7.4 per cent during the first quarter of 2017 to 22.4 million compared to 20.9 million for the same period last year.
Traffic to North America for March was down 4.3 per centbcompared to 2016.
During the first three months of the year, Eastern Europe was the fastest expanding market in terms of percentage growth (33.3 per cent) for Dubai as the appreciation of the ruble against the US dollar over the past year has increased spending power in Dubai and spiked demand in the Russian market.
Asia was the next fastest growing market (22.6%) which benefited from additional capacity provided by Emirates and flydubai in markets such as Thailand, China and the Philippines, followed by South America (22.2%).
Earlier this month, Emirates announced it was cutting flights to the US in response to weakening demand on the routes from Dubai over the past three months. The airline confirmed it will reduce flights to five of the 12 cities it serves.
Emirates said recent actions taken by the US 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 US.