Political Issues
The world has always suffered political turmoil and it seems like the more we continue to advance the further the notion of world peace seems to be. However, we can still strive to make decisions that are driven by a place of humanity rather than greed and selfish interest.
The 21st century has witnessed the cruelty of political decisions made by presidential administrations, and it is almost impossible to speak about politics without addressing its interconnectivity with other causes such as environmental, humanitarian, economic, sociocultural issues, and so forth. The world is connected now more than ever before, and political decisions have had and will continue to have implications on the rest of the world, particularly decisions made by the great powers of the world.
In January 2017, the Ex-president of the United States Donald Trump made an order to ban seven Muslim countries from entering the USA and prohibit refugees from seeking asylum. Amnesty International has called Trump's decision “A license to Discriminate” (Amnesty International UK, 2020) No one from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya, and Somalia including refugees were allowed entrance to America for 90 days. Furthermore, Trump has also halted the US Resettlement Refugee program for 120 days. The decision was inhumane and cruel considering that most people fleeing their homes to seek refuge do not act as a threat to international security and are seeking asylum from the humanitarian crimes committed against them in their home countries.
Figure 35: Anti-travel ban protests in America. source : Al Arabiya & The Guardian
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The decision inevitably had major repercussions on people at the receiving end, separating families and loved ones from one another, and leaving refugees in dire conditions. Other categories that were also deeply affected by Trump’s decision are the sector of education and international students who had hoped to pursue higher education in the states, were now faced with the reality that doing so may no longer be attainable. Furthermore, there are 17,000 international students in America hailing from the seven banned Muslim majority countries that are living in fear and distress in an unwelcoming and hostile anti-immigration reality. (University World News,2017)
How Emirates Airlines and Etihad Airways leveraged the political issue of the Muslim ban in their AIMC
Considering that the UAE is a Muslim country where communities from the seven banned countries exist in large numbers, airlines were affected specifically because the decision made by Trump’s administration was sudden. And although the repercussions were overall minimal, adjustments had to be made. “This brings a mix of administrative confusion, impact, and uncertainty for many travelers as well as practical operational headaches and complexities for airlines in planning their flight programs." Said Emirates spokesperson.
Due to a drop in demand Emirates reduced its number of flights from Dubai to America. The usual operations of flights twice daily headed to Boston, Seattle, and Los Angels were reduced to one flight. The total number of flights was reduced to 101 from 126 flights. (Business Standard,2019). Furthermore, Emirates airlines had to make adjustments with regards to assigning flights headed to America to pilots and cabin crew that were not from the seven banned countries. (The Independent,2017)
On the other hand, despite the natural fall in demand due to the situation’s uncertainty and people’s hesitation to travel, to and from the states and the seven banned countries, Etihad airways soon recovered from the implications of the travel ban, Etihad chief executive confirmed that airlines were doing just fine, in fact, there was an increase of flights all thanks to the Pre-clearance facility now available at the Abu Dhabi International Airport. A facility provided by the US Customs and Border Protection that enables passengers headed to the US to undertake inspections in Abu Dhabi, prior to departing. “Guests can check through their baggage to their final destination in the United States. On reaching the U.S., guests will be treated as domestic arrivals, which allows for faster processing at their arrival airport.”
(Abu Dhabi Airport, n,d.)
Figure 36: Abu Dhabi Pre- Clearance airport facility
