NEW DELHI – Airline bosses meet from Sunday in New Delhi at their annual industry conference, battling to mitigate the impact of Donald Trump’s policies that have hit travel to the United States and potentially raised costs for aviation.
Trump’s bid to impose tariffs on the United States’ trading partners have upended commercial flows, with legal challenges against his plan adding to uncertainties.
The tense atmosphere in the United States, from Trump’s plans to revoke foreign students’ visas to reports of travelers detained at US borders, has also put a dampener on tourism.
“The airline sector is always sensitive to the economic and political climate,” Paul Chiambaretto, professor of strategy and marketing at France’s Montpellier Business School, told AFP.
“Any form of uncertainty will reduce traffic,” he added, noting that “especially” impacted business travellers, the most profitable segment.
The influential International Air Transport Association (IATA) is due to update its traffic and profitability projections as the delegates from the group gathering 350 airlines hold their talks.
In December it forecast a record 5.2 billion air journeys in 2025 — up 6.7 percent from an already unprecedented 2024. It predicted carriers would generate $36.6 billion in cumulative net profit, on revenue exceeding $1 trillion.
However, the US president’s “Liberation Day” tariff blitz and his administration’s stance on issues from immigration to education could throw a spanner in the works.
As early as March, the North American air transport market, which represents 23 percent of global traffic, began to decline and several US-based airlines warned they would not meet their financial targets.
