Accused, like its fellow airlines Emirates and Qatar Airways, of unfair competition towards European airlines, Etihad, the airline of the United Arab Emirates, has published a study indicating that direct and indirect aid and subsidies received by European airlines over the past few years have amounted to more than US$56 billion. To be added to this figure are the billions of dollars represented by tax exemptions on aviation fuel and VAT exemptions on international tickets, permitted by EU legislation.
This…