Emirates will reduce frequencies on five of its 12 services to the United States, citing recent actions by the U.S. government as the driving factor.
From May 1, the Dubai (DXB)–Fort Lauderdale (FLL) route will be cut from daily to five weekly flights. A similar reduction on the Dubai–Orlando (MCO) route takes effect on May 23.
In June, Emirates will scale back the Dubai–Seattle (SEA) service from twice daily to once daily. Comparable frequency reductions are scheduled for Boston (BOS) from June 2 and Los Angeles (LAX) from July 1.
Emirates said the changes follow U.S. government measures affecting entry visa issuance, intensified security vetting and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins. The carrier added these measures have directly reduced consumer interest and demand for travel to the United States.
“Until the start of 2017, Emirates’ operations in the U.S. experienced steady growth driven by passenger demand for our product and international connections,” the airline stated. “However, over the past three months we have seen a marked deterioration in booking patterns across all U.S. routes and travel segments. As a commercial airline, Emirates is adjusting capacity and redeploying aircraft to markets that show stronger demand.”
The airline also said it will continue to monitor conditions closely with the aim of reinstating and expanding U.S. services when demand makes that viable. Emirates reaffirmed its commitment to its U.S. network and said it will still serve 12 American gateways — New York JFK, Newark, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando — with a total of 101 weekly departures connecting those cities to Dubai and Emirates’ global network of more than 150 destinations.