The US State Department has corrected international media reports claiming recent informal talks with each of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their alleged subsidization of Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International), Emirates (EK, Dubai International), and Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) had ended with no action set to be taken.

In a statement, Washington said the discussions, which it described as 'constructive' thus far, would continue.

“The US government takes seriously the concerns raised by some of our airlines. We have decided to address these concerns through informal, technical discussions that are ongoing,” it said in an emailed statement.

Talks with the UAE were held on July 18 and 19 while those with Qatar occurred on July 25. They are considered informal discussions as none have been called for under the terms of the US's Open Skies agreements with each Gulf nation.

The three Middle Eastern carriers, collectively known as the ME3, are accused by the US3, a group of US carriers which includes American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth), United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), and Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson), of unfairly benefiting from USD42 billion in direct and indirect state assistance. This, they claim, is a violation of the US's Open Skies agreements with each of Qatar and the UAE. The US3 have been lobbying Washington to amend and restrict the agreements on this basis.

For their part, the ME3 have denied the allegations instead accusing the US carriers of protectionism and of benefiting from indirect state support through their respective Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.