Emirates plan seen hurting mid-sized cities

Residents in mid-sized Canadian cities face losing point-to-point service to overseas destinations if Emirates Airline is allowed to ramp up flights on its Toronto-Dubai route, says Paul Benoît , president of the Ottawa International Airport Authority. "It's not just Ottawa. Think of what would happen with other second-tier Canadian airports. There's an economic impact if smaller cities either lose their international flights or don't get additional ones," Mr. Benoît warned. The Canadian Airports Council said it doesn't get involved in individual cases such as Emirates' request for greater access to Canada, an expansion plan that's opposed by Air Canada. The council said it supports the principle of "open skies" to bolster international air services. The airline industry is slowly recovering from the recession, with the International Air Transport Association reducing its loss forecast for 2010 to $2.8-billion (U.S.) from $5.6-billion.