Employees have sent over 60,000 messages to the White House asking for President Trump to stand up for the 1.2 million jobs threatened by rule-breaking Gulf airline subsidies.

WASHINGTON, DC (May 24, 2017) – Today, airline employees from across the country and across the industry participated in a fly-in to Washington, D.C., to urge their congressional representatives and the Trump administration to defend over 1.2 million American jobs threatened by Gulf carrier trade cheating. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have funneled over $50 billion dollars in subsidies to their state-owned airlines – Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – as part of an expansion scheme to dominate global aviation, violating Open Skies trade agreements with the United States. In response, workers at U.S. airlines have sent over 60,0000 letters, emails, tweets and other messages to President Trump and his cabinet calling on the administration to stand up for American jobs against the Gulf carriers’ massive, unprecedented treaty violations. At a press conference today on Capitol Hill, airline workers were joined by U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) to highlight the threat of unchecked Gulf carrier expansion.

“No country should be permitted to break our trade agreements, especially when scores of hard-working American jobs are on the line,” said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “President Trump came into office with a clear goal: to ensure our trade deals are fair, enforced and for the benefit of American workers. We look forward to working with the administration to achieve this goal by putting a stop to these flagrant, offensive treaty violations.”

“This threat is real, and it is growing as we speak,” said Captain Tim Canoll, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. “President Trump and Congress should act swiftly and stand up for American workers by stopping the Gulf carriers’ rapid, rule-breaking expansion before it puts more jobs at risk.”

“The jobs of my fellow pilots and millions of other workers who support the U.S. aviation industry are under attack. When we lose a flight due to unfair, subsidized Gulf airline competition, over 1,500 American jobs are lost. We need our government to stand up, act now and stop that from happening,” said Captain Daniel F. Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association.

“Gulf carriers are breaking the rules to take our routes and threaten our jobs. Over $50 billion in subsidies artificially prop up Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar to choke out U.S. competition,” said Association of Flight Attendants International President Sara Nelson. “Employees and consumers will shoulder the burden of unfair competition unless our government enforces Open Skies agreements with the Gulf states. We need action before we lose over a million good U.S. jobs, connectivity with the world, consumer choice and the critical infrastructure of U.S. aviation that also carries our troops.”

“Flight attendants proudly serve American communities every day, alongside pilots, ground crews and countless other fellow airline employees. But the Gulf carriers’ trade cheating threatens the foundations of Open Skies policy and international aviation, and could undermine the hub and spoke system that provides service to small and medium American communities,” said Bob Ross, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.

“President Trump has the opportunity to put American jobs first and show the world that we won’t tolerate foreign businesses that break agreements to give our country a raw deal,” said Captain Jon Weaks, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association. “With the Gulf carriers continuing to expand, thanks to backing from billions of dollars in government subsidies, the time to act is now.”

Today’s fly-in comes during a wave of bipartisan support for enforcing Open Skies agreements. In recent months, letters supporting action against the Gulf carrier subsidies have come from the congressional delegations of Minnesota, Georgia and Michigan, as well as a group of six senators and 25 members of Congress from New York and New Jersey. Over the last two years, nearly 300 members of the House and Senate have weighed in on behalf of American aviation workers and called for the enforcement of our international trade agreements with the UAE and Qatar.