The Trump administration will not take punitive action
against the UAE and Qatar for alleged Open Skies violations, though it is
leaving the door open for such actions down the road, according to published
reports.
U.S. airline representatives sat this week with State
Department officials to
discuss claims that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways each benefit from
billions in government subsidies, according to The Hill. The carriers consistently
refute those claims. The administration is continuing informal talks with the
two Gulf nations rather than opening formal consultations on Open Skies
agreements, The Hill indicated.
The U.S. Travel Association also indicated the
administration has rejected a request by the U.S. carriers to freeze new
flights from Qatar and the UAE. "They did not prove a violation of Open
Skies agreements by Gulf carriers and did not prove any economic harm from the
status quo," U.S. Travel president and CEO Roger Dow said. "The only
thing that's been proven is that other sectors would be harmed by the action
they were requesting."
The administration has not ruled out more substantive action
if it is not satisfied with the results of the informal talks, however. Reuters
reported that a White House memo from the fall indicated it planned to
"seek disciplines on subsidies, transparency and state-owned
enterprise," including possible withdrawal from Open Skies agreements. U.S.
President Donald Trump himself made a vague reference of "subsidized
competition" against U.S. carriers when he met
with top airline executives earlier this year.
Jill Zuckman, a spokesperson for the Partnership for Open &
Fair Skies—a coalition that includes American Airlines, Delta and United
Airlines, along with several airline employee associations—said, "We
applaud the Trump administration for taking action to level the playing field."