U.S.-based legacy airlines are accusing two Middle Eastern countries of violating bilateral aviation agreements and are asking the Trump administration to intervene.
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines and its unions sent an open letter March 16 to Trump asking him to enforce Open Skies agreements with the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Qatar.
The three largest U.S. airlines say that Emirates Air Lines, a long with Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, operate with an unfair advantage that violates the spirit of Open Skies by receiving large government subsidies from the U.A.E. and Qatar. The United States has 120 Open Skies agreements with countries from around the world. The agreements are meant to expand international passenger and cargo flights to and from the United States.
The U.S. legacy carriers argue that while they must react to supply and demand when deciding its routes, the Middle Eastern carriers are not beholden to market forces and can simply dip into an unlimited pool of government subsidies when determining where to set up routes for its airlines.
Originally published by The Daily Caller.
