Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airlines, has challenged Canada's prime minister Stephen Harper to produce "one shred of evidence" to substantiate claims the airline is subsidised by the UAE Government.
Clark said the Canadian government was perpetuating a “cycle of myths and misrepresentations" of Emirates. Harper said last week that Etihad and Emirates were Government financed.
Clark stated to a national paper that the airline has “stated on many occasions that Emirates is not subsidised in any way, shape or form by the Dubai government. It never has been and never will be.”
He said: “Our financial statements audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world’s largest accounting firm, confirm that there is no evidence of subsidisation whatsoever. These accounts have been made freely available to the public through Emirates’ website and they clearly demonstrate that we do not receive any direct or indirect subsidies,” he said.