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Congress looks to ground Emirates air route

Lawmakers want US President Donald Trump to cancel planned Europe-US route.
An Emirates plane is seen at Lisbon's airport, Portugal June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante - RTSHVQ6

Congress is greeting the planned March 12 opening of a new Emirates airline route between Athens, Greece, and Newark, New Jersey, by trying to prevent it from getting off the ground. 

Twenty-five House members from New York and New Jersey — almost two-thirds of the total delegation — wrote to President Donald Trump on March 7 with a request that he cancel the route until the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stops subsidizing its largest airline. The escalating trade dispute risks roiling US relations with a key counterterrorism ally in the Middle East, but lawmakers say US workers are getting swindled and must be protected.

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