Airlines and business groups warn of chaos if US restricts international flights

WASHINGTON- Major airline, travel and business groups warned that barring border processing at Newark or other major U.S. airports could lead to chaos, strand thousands of tourists and Americans trying to get home, and prevent crucial cargo shipments.

On Thursday, Homeland Security Department Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Trump administration could soon stop processing international travelers ‌and cargo at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, a major gateway into New York City, because local law enforcement in the state were not assisting federal immigration officials.

Mullin has repeatedly said he could also halt immigration processing at more than a dozen other airports in so-called "sanctuary cities," including Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco.

Halting customs operations at major U.S. airports "threatens to cause unnecessary chaos throughout the nation's air transportation system," said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Airlines for America, National Retail Federation, U.S. Travel and other groups in a joint statement on Friday.

"International aviation networks are highly interconnected, and operational changes at a small number of gateway airports will quickly ripple across the country, negatively impacting travelers, cargo shipments, supply chains, and the communities that depend on those connections," they said.

The White House did not immediately comment. However, three airline executives told Reuters on Friday that they did not believe the Trump administration would immediately move ahead with any restrictions.

Mullin had complained that local police were not ensuring that federal immigration officials could enter and exit a New Jersey detention center and he warned he could reassign customs officials from the airport.

WORLD CUP NEARS

Shutting down all international flights in the 18 airports serving the sanctuary cities would result in a more than $70 billion hit to the economy and impact 68 million international passengers per year, the U.S. Travel Association said.

Over 20,000 international passengers land at Newark alone every day, including about 14,000 U.S. citizens, it said.

"American travelers from across the U.S. could find their flights into the U.S. diverted or canceled," the group said.

"Millions of international visitors will face the same disruption, and with the FIFA World Cup weeks away, the damage to America's reputation as a welcoming destination would be significant and lasting."

Foreign visitors are expected to stream in for next month's soccer World Cup, jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The final will be held on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, about 12 miles from Newark airport.

A shutdown could also imperil billions of dollars in imported cargo like pharmaceuticals and semiconductor chips.

"Air cargo cannot be rerouted without severe economic consequences," said the Cargo Airline Association.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Rosalba O'Brien/Reuters