US and UAE reaffirm support for open skies

US Department of State announced (24-Jun-2019) the US and UAE held their sixth economic policy dialogue on 20-Jun-2019, during which delegations from the countries discussed civil aviation matters. Both governments reaffirmed their support for the US-UAE air transport agreement (ATA) of 11-Mar-2012 and the understandings in the record of discussion between the governments of 11-May-2018. According to the Department of State, the record of discussion "reinforced the principle of a fair and equal opportunity to compete in providing international air transportation governed by the ATA" and the parties "underscored the shared and ongoing commitment of the United States and the United Arab Emirates to fully maintain all aspects of their Open Skies relationship". Emirates, in a statement to CAPA, commended the Trump Administration for reaffirming its commitment to the ATA and commented: "This should end an unfortunate chapter in the mutually beneficial US-UAE aviation relationship that provides the US with a significant trade surplus, and supports hundreds of thousands of US jobs". The airline added: "For over four years, the three largest US carriers have waged a fictitious, unrelenting and malicious multi-million dollar protectionist lobbying campaign against US Open Skies policy and consumer choice. Over this time, these US carriers have taken their eye off the ball wasting tens of millions of shareholder dollars that could have been better directed towards the historic opportunity to reform the US air traffic control system or spent on improving their customers' travel experience. Emirates looks forward to continuing to ensure passengers travelling to and from the United States can fly better". [more - original PR]