Washington, D.C. (May 3, 2019) – Today, the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies launched a TV ad thanking President Trump for his commitment to stand up for American workers and calling on him to enforce the United States’ Open Skies agreement with Qatar. The ad criticizes Qatar for continuing to violate its Open Skies agreement, as well as a separate agreement negotiated with the Trump administration last year, threatening more than 1.2 million American jobs.

“America is stronger today because of the Trump administration’s focus on defending U.S. jobs from foreign trade violations,” said Scott Reed, managing partner of the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. “There are more than 1.2 million American workers who are counting on President Trump to enforce our country’s Open Skies agreement with Qatar. Failure to do so could lead to massive job losses and irreparable harm to the U.S. airline industry.”

The ad began airing today and will continue each business day in Washington, DC, until May 15. The ad can be viewed here.

Earlier this week, Secretary Pompeo spoke about the need to enforce the U.S.-Qatar Open Skies agreement and the 2018 agreement between the Trump administration and Qatari government at an event hosted by The Hill. Shortly after last year’s agreement was reached, Qatar Airways used its government subsidy-backed investment in Air Italy, previously a struggling regional carrier, as a proxy to continue its expansion into the U.S. market. Without Qatar’s subsidized backing, Air Italy’s new U.S. routes wouldn’t be feasible.

Background on Partnership for Open & Fair Skies

The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies is a coalition that includes American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, along with the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association, the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Communications Workers of America, and the Airline Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Partnership is calling for the United States to enforce its Open Skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar, which have pumped more than $50 billion in subsidies to their state-owned airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. In January 2015, the Partnership published a white paper providing a comprehensive overview and analysis of this issue.

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