The Swedish subsidiary of British air charter company Britannia Airways said Monday October 15 its flights would no longer stop over in the United Arab Emirates because its passengers refused to land in an Arab country.
The firm said the decision to avoid Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, on flights heading to the popular Thai island resort of Phuket was temporary. It was made because of "worries from numerous clients regarding the risks they faced in Arab countries" as international tensions heightened around the US military strikes on Afghanistan, the subsidiary's manager, Goeran Gaardoe, told Swedish state television. Britannia Airways' five flights per week between Stockholm and Phuket will stop over in Cyprus, "a costly solution," he said. — (AFP, Stockholm)
© Agence France Presse
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
