Washington, D.C. (May 21, 2015) - The Dutch government has frozen traffic rights to three Gulf carriers after reviewing overwhelming evidence of massive subsidies provided to the carriers by the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Dutch Secretary of Transport Wilma Mansveld decided that two widebody flights a day from Dubai to Amsterdam does not correspond to actual market demand and has frozen Emirates at one daily flight. She similarly froze Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, according to Aviation Daily.

Over the past few months, France and Germany have also frozen flights by the Gulf carriers and have asked the European Union Commission to work with the governments of Qatar and the UAE to ensure all airlines are competing on a level playing field.

“The government of the Netherlands wisely recognizes the severity of these subsidies, which is a violation of Open Skies policy,” said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “Now, it is imperative that the U.S. government request consultations with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and ask for a freeze on additional flights to the U.S. until a fair resolution can be worked out.”

Over the last decade, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have given over $42 billion in subsidies and other unfair benefits to their state-owned airlines. And in recent months, Gulf carriers have begun rapidly expanding service into the U.S., outstripping any meaningful demand. These subsidies are creating a distortion of the international aviation marketplace that is severely harming the U.S. airlines and the hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans they employ.

In recent weeks, 262 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, mayors of multiple major U.S. cities, the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of business, trade and economic groups around the country have joined the Partnership in expressing their concern for the U.S. aviation industry and asking the Administration to seek consultations to resolve the Open Skies policy violation.