Russian airspace may reopen under Trump but new tariffs set to hurt Hong Kong air cargo
Regional aviation chief, experts say Trump’s pledge to end wars in Ukraine, Middle East could be boon for global aviation industry
The global aviation industry could benefit from Donald Trump’s re-election if he can end the Russia-Ukraine war and break the airspace deadlock, but Hong Kong’s air cargo business is set to suffer with his increased tariffs against China, industry leaders and analysts have said.
Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines (AAPA), said that if Trump could end the conflict and fighting in the Middle East as he claimed he would, Western airlines could possibly return to flying over Russian airspace rather than going over Afghanistan.
“If he says what he means and if he does what he says [about stopping] the wars, I think that will be a positive,” Menon said during the recent AAPA Annual Assembly of Presidents in Brunei.
“Right now all these airspace closures the airlines are dealing with are really making airline operations very difficult.”
Trump’s promises earlier this month included ending the Russian-Ukrainian war in 24 hours of taking office, but analysts have called his claim too grandiose, as any negotiations would take time.
He also wanted wars in the Middle East region “to end as soon as possible … with a decisive victory” for Israel, according to his campaign spokeswoman.
