CAIRO- The French government has rejected a request by Emirates Airlines to increase the number of flights allowed to land at Charles de Gaulle Airport by eight flights a week. Emirates Airlines, Arabia, and Itihad Airlines had previously asked that additional flights be allowed to land weekly at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. The French government approved the granting of one additional flight to each airline. The rejection of the Emirates Airlines request marks the beginning of a confrontation between the company and the European Union, especially after statements recently released by Wolfgang Mayrhuber, the CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa, and Hartman, the President and Chi.ef Executive Officer of KLM. These statements included a clear warning to Emirates Airlines that it will face a number of obstacles in getting more flights due to the huge passenger capacity on its international flights, which exceeds the capacity of both Air France and British Airways together. These statements revealed the real intentions of Emirates Airlines, which has already signed contracts to buy around 90 A380 aircraft. This is in addition to other Gulf airlines whose efforts have threatened to ‘swallow' all other Arab airlines and kick them out of market. It seems that the ambitions of Emirates Airlines have gone too far and beyond their capabilities. I think that we will soon see a unified European effort, and maybe a global one, to curtail the activity of the Gulf airlines in general and Emirates Airlines in particular. But will Emirates airlines continue to take shipment of its new A380s, or it will be forced to back out of the deal? This might lead to its ruin and bankruptcy, especially in light of the impending European confrontation. Let's wait and see. [email protected]
