Brussels has “opened” the European sky to Qatar Airways from 2021: the bosses of Air France-KLM and Lufthansa come together to denounce “a real scandal”

Air France-KLM and Lufthansa put aside their rivalry to denounce this Monday the controversial “open skies” agreement between the European Union and Qatar, and demand that Brussels facilitate the consolidation of the aviation sector. In a rare joint interview granted to the French economic newspaper The Echoes and the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungThe CEO of Air France-KLM, Benjamin Smith, and the CEO of the Lufthansa group, Carsten Spohr, reiterated the demands of the Airlines for Europe (A4E) association, the lobby of European airlines.

They criticized in particular the agreement to open European skies to Qatar Airways, which came into force at the end of 2021 and which, according to Benjamin Smith, “considerably worsens our situation.”

In the so-called “Qatargate” affair, which broke out at the end of 2022 and gave rise to 20 indictments, Belgian justice is investigating gifts and cash payments that Qatar and Morocco are suspected of softening their image in the European Parliament. Doha and Rabat deny any corruption.

“I hate it when Ben buys an airline.”

For Carsten Spohr, “this agreement contributes to generating additional CO2 emissions” and “eliminates jobs in European hubs (correspondence platforms, editor’s note) to create them in countries that do not share our conception of Social Security and social standards.”

He also agreed with Benjamin Smith on the issue of distortions of competition with non-European companies, arising from regulatory limitations, in particular the incorporation of non-fossil fuels in aircraft tanks.

The two leaders fight over passengers, but also over the independent European airlines they want to consolidate. Lufthansa has acquired the Italian ITA, Air France-KLM is in the process of acquiring the Scandinavian SAS and both are targeting the Portuguese TAP. While Brussels recently blocked certain consolidation operations in the name of preserving competition, Benjamin Smith urged European authorities to support “the creation of global European champions.”