BA boss warns Middle East airlines could be a threat to UK carriers

As the European Union funds the growth of Middle East airlines, British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, has warned this could pose a threat on our own carriers.

Walsh has referred to an agreement between the US and Europe that prohibits government credit guarantees to airlines in the home countries of Airbus and Boeing, yet allows credits to be exported to the Middle East, leaving them with greater opportunities to expand. He said: “We have been slow in the UK and in Europe to recognise the competitive threat. We should be concerned about what is happening.”

In 2010, the UK saw a string of travel operators suffer bankruptcy after the recent economic trouble; Walsh has warned the EU is providing a threat to European airlines. He said: “We are financing our competitors by providing them with cheap access to capital. This is a very significant threat.”

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