Which is the cause and which is the effect? That is the poser that aviation watchers need to unravel. Who acted first, Tunisian authorities or the airline, Emirates?
The popular airline, known as Emirates, owned by the United Arab Emirates, says it will stop flying to Tunisia. The airline announced this last Sunday after the North African country said it had banned flights from the United Emirates carrier.
The announcement came two days after Tunisian government officials said the UAE had banned a Tunisian woman from flying to or transiting through its territory. No reason was given for either decision.
Emirates said on Twitter it would stop its Dubai-Tunis connection from last Monday following instructions from Tunisia. The Tunisian Transport Ministry said in a statement earlier that Emirates flights would be suspended until the UAE airline begins to operate according to international law and treaties.
The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter that both countries had been in contact about the “security measure information”, without elaborating. He stated that the UAE valued and respected Tunisian women.
In Tunisia, the national mood has been low after women said they had been banned at Tunis airport from boarding Emirates flights to Dubai. Tunisian civil organizations and political parties called on the government to react to the situation.
