JEDDAH, 25 March 2003 — International airlines are faced with problems that may result in a steep drop in their passenger loads in the days to come. As it is, there is a 10 to 20 percent drop in the number of passengers traveling by various airlines in the wake of the US-led attack on Iraq.
Even before the war some of the airlines operating to the Far East were faced with the problem of a mysterious virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that has been claiming an increasing number of victims in Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
Airlines say while they have been taking extra precautions against flying SARS-infected people, they have also been rescheduling flights in a bid to avoid the war zone.
Singapore Airlines, which operates three weekly flights to Jeddah, has come up with a strategy to allow passengers traveling to the SARS-affected destinations change their travel plans without penalty. “The relevant fees for rerouting or changing travel plans will be waived in most cases,” an SIA official told Arab News.
“While our outgoing passenger loads are more or less intact, there is a drop up to 20 percent in our incoming loads,” he said, adding that local health authorities were screening both incoming and outgoing passengers. No case of infection had so far been detected.
Gulf Air and many other airlines have announced precautionary measures against SARS. They said they had been informing and educating passengers about World Health Organization guidelines. WHO has advised people to be aware of the major symptoms of the illness, which include a high fever in excess of 38 degrees and a range of respiratory difficulties, such as a cough and shortness of breath.
About a possible hike in war insurance rates, airlines contacted by Arab News said they did not know when that would come.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed, but once the rates increase there will be a chain reaction; fares will go up resulting in a further drop in demand for seats,” a top management executive of an airline said.
Meanwhile, Emirates has entered into an agreement with Kuwait Airways that allows all Kuwait Airways passengers to travel on Emirates flights without the need for their tickets to be endorsed. This follows Kuwait Airways’ suspension of its worldwide operations with the exception of services to Dubai and Cairo. The endorsement waiver agreement between the two airlines came into operation on Sunday.
