Gulf-EU open skies: US dispute, fifth freedom and EU negotiations

After a global wave of political conservatism and growing interest in aviation protectionism, is open skies dead? CAPA's Airline Leader summit on 17 and 18 May 2018 in Dublin will host an evening dinner debate on the outlook of open skies in Europe.

The EC is undertaking contentious negotiations with countries that include the UAE and Qatar. Antagonism towards these aviation hubs has occurred at the same time as European airlines' American counterparts have also taken aim at the Gulf hubs.

Yet in 2018 the State of Qatar has reached an agreement with the US to end the debate.

Might this signal Qatar and the EU will also reach an agreement? The US was mostly concerned about fifth freedom, while the EU is focused on the more abstract term of "fair competition". New EU law includes mention of fair competition and generating EU airline jobs. But to the advantage of foreign airlines, the law also mandates the EC to be aware of the overall benefit aviation brings to everyday consumers.