Preparing a business presentation on the laptop may not be possible for travellers taking flights to the US after the recent device ban from West Asian destinations. This may lead to them changing their preference in favour of exit gateways in Europe and South-East Asia.
“Travellers have already booked their tickets and may decide later to change the gateways if necessary. Eventually, there could be more traffic from other non-West Asian gateways if the device ban continues,” observed Daniel Dsouza, Head of Sales, India and NRI Markets, SOTC.
However the sudden ban on devices is not expected to have any immediate repercussions on leisure travel; business travel is more likely to feel the pinch.Large industries such as services, where there are a lot of business travel, may see some changes.
“While basic travel may remain unaffected due to the ban, business travellers coming to and fro India may chose to take other gateways like Europe,” said Rakshit Desai, Managing Director, FCM Travel Solutions.
Considering it is mostly business travellers who tend to use laptops and tabs more often on long-distance flights, this particular segment may decide to avoid using the gateways in West Asia like Dubai and Abu Dhabi to make trips to the US.
But avoiding West Asia, which is the hub for airlines such as Emirates and Etihad Airways, which run loyalty programmes, may not be easy for Indian travellers, said Abraham Alapatt, President and Group Head, Marketing, Thomas Cook (India).
Online travel companies like Musafir.com is also not witnessing any immediate impact due to the ban. Giya Diwaan, CEO, Musafir India, said: “The ban is temporary, for just six months; while tourists may delay their travel to the US, business travellers may try to fix their meetings in other destinations. The impact is meagre at the moment, although almost 12 airlines are following the ban.”