Qatar Airways Agrees to Disclose Financial Statements

After years of accusations from airlines in the United States regarding illegal government subsidies, Qatar Airways has agreed to release detailed financial statements.

According to Reuters.com, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday the two governments were working together to address the concerns from American carriers concerning the financial support the three major Gulf airlines were receiving from their governments.

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Government officials in Qatar are expected to begin releasing its annual financial statements over the next year. The State Department said Qatar is also expected to disclose significant new transactions with other state-owned enterprises within two years.

“The outcome we achieve will ensure a level playing field in the global aviation market,” Tillerson said during a press conference Tuesday.

The decision to disclose the financial information is being hailed as a victory for the largest airlines in the U.S., including American, Delta and United. For years, Gulf carriers Qatar, Etihad and Emirates have denied the accusations of receiving illegal government subsidies.

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In response to the announcement, U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement:

“We are very pleased that the Big Three U.S. airlines and their allies are embracing the administration's wise decision to reject both a freeze on international flights and renegotiation of Open Skies agreements. America needs healthy domestic airlines, but we have believed since the beginning of this debate that tampering with Open Skies would clearly harm the U.S. economy and jobs.”

“We look forward to seeing a similarly equitable result from the informal talks with the United Arab Emirates. We then hope that both sides can move on from this three-year debate and focus together on efforts to grow travel to and within the U.S.”