Emirates announced it will begin daily, non-stop service between Newark (EWR) and Athens (ATH) on March 12, a contentious move that sparked an Open Skies debate with U.S. airlines.

The flight between Newark and Athens is the second Emirates will offer between the United States and a location other than Dubai. With the new flight, Emirates will be the only airline offering year-round service between the New York area and Athens, a market currently only served seasonally by U.S. carriers from New York (JFK) and Newark.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines aligned to suspend U.S. network growth of Emirates and fellow Gulf carriers, including Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. The U.S. airlines alleged Gulf airlines accepted more than $50 billion in governmental subsidies since 2004, which is in violation of international Open Skies aviation agreements, a claim Gulf carriers deny.

After the election of Donald Trump, the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, an advocacy group made up of U.S airline unions and the Big Three legacy carriers, are hopeful his administration will clamp down on network expansion of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar within the United States. It is unclear at this point what action, if any, will be taken by the Trump administration.