ARI pulls team out of Pakistan

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Aer Rianta International-Middle East (ARI-ME) has pulled out its team from the duty-free operation at Karachi airport because of concerns over staff safety, as the political fallout from last month's US terrorist attack grows. ARI-ME had a 10-year contract with Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority to run arrivals and departures duty-free stores at the airport.

ARI director-general Eamon Foley told TRW sister publication Travel Retailer International: "The only location [in the Middle East] we've been worried about in terms of the safety of our staff was in Pakistan. We've withdrawn our staff and are monitoring the situation."

Foley added that while sales across all of ARI's Middle Eastern locations had dropped by 20% since the terrorist attacks of September 11, he expected business to pick up quickly if US retaliation is limited.

"I don't think locals are scared to travel. The word we are getting from our operations is that local people are more concerned about travelling outside the Middle East than within it. Of course, the worry is going to be international travellers, who might view the Middle East as an impossible area to travel."

• For a full interview with Eamon Foley, see TRI's TFWA World Exhibtion special issue, out this month.