A UK exit from the European Union (EU) could destabilise the aviation industry and damage passenger flows between Europe and the Gulf, Emirates’ president Tim Clark has warned.
A ‘Brexit’ would send “shockwaves” throughout Europe and beyond and at least temporarily dampen air travel demand, Clark said.
Up to 40 percent of Emirates’ total passenger load is from Europe, he added, so Brexit could have a negative impact on the business.
“If the Brits decide to exit the EU the shockwaves throughout the EU as it stands today will be pretty severe in my view,” Clark told reporters at the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s annual meeting in Dublin.
“It will – only temporarily, I hope – flatline demand as people think, how will this affect me, what is going to happen to France, to other places, and so on.
“For somebody that is running a business that has very, very high demand in our European countries and cities, to see destabilisation wouldn’t serve any purpose at all.
“I would say probably 30 percent to 40 percent of everything we do comes out of Europe – so it’s vital for us.”
The global airline industry is already facing a “triple whammy” of challenges, including political, environmental and economic changes that airline CEOs are “scared out of our wits about,” said Clark. A Brexit “would just add to that”.
He said: “At a stage where we are very much concerned about Brussels, Paris, all sorts of other things going on – for example, we have a very large immigration issue going on, there is polarisation of that, the growth of populist movements and the man and woman in the street is a little bit upset, they’re waiting to see what happens.
“If Brexit comes along we’re going to see another shockwave coming through.”
Like other airlines, Emirates is “waiting to see what happens” while putting in place contingency measures that would allow it to reduce or grow capacity as required.
“If there’s one thing the airline industry can do, it can adapt,” Clark said. “We’ve been a little bit disingenuous to all of ourselves – we are far more capable of dealing with disruptions, big or small, than we were 20 years ago.
“I am forever the optimistic and would personally like to think that sense will prevail and this destabilising effect will not happen. But even if Brexit does go ahead, maybe I’m completely wrong [about its potential impact].
“There are those who’ll think, we’ve had this [uncertainty] for too long. People who just want to get on with their lives and travel and see the world…that’s what they’ll do.”
Asked whether he would vote either way, Clark said he could not as he has lived outside the UK for 30 years – longer than the duration of expat residency permitted under UK electoral rules.
He joked: “I can’t vote! I’m not allowed to, I’ve been out of the country for 30 years. They can knight me, but they can’t let me vote!”
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