The German government put a damper on expansion plans by Arabian Gulf carriers in Europe’s largest economy, saying it would only consider additional landing rights once a dispute is resolved about alleged state subsidies.
Speaking in Doha during a visit to the region by a political delegation, the government’s aviation industry coordinator, Brigitte Zypries, said that “until the problems linked to the subsidies matter are solved and a level playing field for competition established there will be no additional landing rights” for the Gulf carriers in Germany.
Airlines in the United States and Europe have accused Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways of receiving billions in state support, drawing a strong rebuke from the carriers and government officials.
Accusations that the Gulf states unfairly subsidise their airline assets should be proven, Sultan Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy said on Monday. The word “subsidies is really misused when it comes to this situation,” said Mr Al Mansouri, adding that the spat was souring relations.
The German and French transport ministries said in a letter last month that state backing for rival airlines “seriously harms European carries, reduces the attractiveness of European hubs and seriously threatens the direct connectivity of the European Union with the rest of the world”.
“Traffic rights, almost exclusively to the German and French markets, are among the leverages the European Commission could use to ensure the positive outcome” of talks with Gulf countries, the letter stated.
Unlike the US, which is considering rescinding current landing rights for Gulf carriers, the EU is being lobbied by France and Germany to choke pressure to allow additional ones.
Germany now grants each of the airlines limited landing rights of their choice in Germany. Emirates, the biggest Gulf carrier, serves Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.
The Emirates president, Tim Clark, said this month that the airline would also like to fly to Berlin, but not at the expense of a city it already serves.
Etihad is seeking two additional landing rights in Germany – in Stuttgart and Berlin – to add to the four it already has in Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich.
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