Dubai International Airport’s duty-free operator estimates that it will lose about $2 million (Dh7.34 million) in sales this year from the ban on carrying most electronic devices on US-bound flights, a senior executive said on Thursday.
Under new security measures announced this week, electronics larger than a mobile phone will be banned from passenger cabins on direct flights to the United States from airports in eight Muslim-majority nations, including the UAE, starting on Saturday.
“We estimate that the ban will cost us around $2 million in revenue for the year,” Dubai Duty-Free’s Chief Operating Officer, Ramesh Cidambi, told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The estimate is based on sales of electronics to US-bound passengers, excluding mobile phones and accessories, for 2016 and if the ban runs until the end of the year. US officials have said the ban is indefinite.
Dubai Duty-Free made $1.85 billion in total sales last year, Cidambi said.
