The US government says it will review claims by three US airlines that their state-owned Gulf rivals received more than $40 billion in alleged subsidies, after intense lobbying from the US carriers.
The Departments of Commerce, State and Transportation are inviting interested parties to submit information through a public docket, they announce today.
“The claims, which are asserted in a publicly available report, are of significant interest to stakeholders and all three Federal agencies. The US government takes seriously the concerns raised in the report and is interested in receiving insights and feedback from stakeholders before any decisions are made regarding what action, if any, should be taken,” says a Department of Transportation (DOT) notice.
The US government is inviting public submissions online from today, and adds that it will begin a review by end-May.
In March, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines released a white paper alleging that Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways had received more than $40 billion in state subsidies from their respective governments. The three Gulf carriers have strongly denied the claims, and at least two of them - Emirates and Etihad - have held talks with US government officials to defend themselves. Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker is expected to visit Washington DC later this month.
The US carriers have been lobbying their government to take action under existing US open-skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar, and are calling for US authorities to stop the Gulf carriers from expanding service to the USA in the meantime.
Americans for Fair Skies, an organisation that is supporting the US airlines in their campaign, welcomed the US government’s decision to review the allegations.
“This is an important first step towards restoring fairness to our skies and stopping the largest trade violation in history,” it says.
Etihad says it “applauds” the US government “for setting up a transparent process to deal fairly and responsibly with the claims”.
“Etihad Airways is committed to setting the record straight regarding these unsubstantiated allegations,” says the airline.
Emirates and Qatar Airways did not immediate comment on the US government’s action.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
