A group of 11 Republican U.S. senators recently sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to express concern that the Qatari government may be in violation of its Open Skies agreement.
The senators commend the administration for taking action last year when concerns were raised that the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were violating their Open Skies agreements with the United States by providing subsidies to certain state-owned airlines.
The senators request an investigation into the airline.
“We are concerned that these hard-fought agreements are already being ignored,” the senators wrote. “Last year Qatar Airways acquired 49 percent of AQA Holding, the parent company of Meridiana fly, which has since been rebranded as Air Italy. Before Qatar Airways’ 49 percent acquisition, Meridiana was primarily serving domestic Italian routes and seasonal international service between Naples and Palermo, Italy and New York.”
Two days after the deal closed, Qatar Airways announced that Meridiana would relaunch as Air Italy. Air Italy began offering daily nonstop services between Milan and New York and four weekly services between Milan and Miami. These new flights would not be possible without funding from Qatar Airways.