Flights to U.S. Drop 43% After Trump's Ban

United States President, Donald Trump, has been in office for ten days now, and Americans have already had two major protests in lieu of his presidency. At this rate, Trump will be giving cause for protest at least three times a month. Donald Trump built his campaign on a few promises and seems to be making good on them. The latest executive order from the Oval Office has stirred up a worldwide objection from our own nation to all the way to Scotland. The executive order declared an immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries for the next 90 days and suspended all refugee admission for the next 120. The ban has been called a clear cut discriminatory edict; many officials have done what they can to make their disagreeance known.

Airlines

Representing 265 airlines, the Global Airline Associations, said that the edict was issued without proper coordination or warning, which caused major confusion with travelers and their own members. It also causes uncertain burden on unaware airlines such as implementation costs and non-compliance penalties. If a passenger is refused entry into a country, generally speaking, it is that airline's responsibility to assist the passenger back to their home country. Airlines in Dubai, Germany, France, and Amsterdam, have each said they have had a small number of passengers denied boarding due to the new rule, and a few airlines have even had to change their crew rosters. 

How it has affected us

President Trump's sudden immigration had some effect on our travel as well. Canadians have questioned their ability, or inability, to enter America, and it has resonated into our flight purchases. According to CheapFlights.com, Canadian searches for flights to American destinations dropped 43%, and this is not a seasonal swing. Searches from other countries were also down 38%. The confusion on what the ban meant for Canadians as a whole was cleared on Saturday; the immigration minister confirmed that the U.S. administration had clarified that Canadian dual citizens and permanent residents are exempt from the ban. It is quite clear that Canadians are not in favor of the direction Donald Trump is taking our southern neighbor.