John Porcari, who served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation during the U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement negotiations, authored an opinion piece published today by the Huffington Post titled “Setting the record straight on Norwegian Air and the US-EU Open Skies Agreement.”

Porcari says, “A decision whether or not to grant operating authority based on compliance with Article 17 is at the heart of implementation of the ATA …This administration should be justifiably proud that appropriate labor provisions were negotiated into this agreement; let’s use them for their intended purpose.” Read more

Airline passengers and air cargo shippers must act now to defend fair competition in the U.S. airline industry. U.S. aviation workers need your help to call on the U.S. government to deny Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application to establish what would be the U.S. airline industry’s first flag-of-convenience business operation. Designed to avoid Norwegian labor, regulatory, and tax laws to give the airline an unfair leg up in competing with U.S. airlines, the model would conflict directly with the U.S.–EU Air Transport Agreement.

See more photos on the ALPA Flickr page.

Today, hundreds of aviation workers from across the country gathered in front of the White House to show our unity and strength in opposition to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) recent tentative approval of Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) petition to fly to the United States, a plan which violates our air transport agreement with the European Union. Alongside labor leaders and aviation workers across the industry, more than 300 ALPA pilots and staff participated in the event to urge the White House and the DOT to honor its commitments and stand up for American workers. 

Capt. Canoll in Aviation Daily: “A thunderous roar of opposition emerged from U.S. aviation workers and the public in the wake of the Transportation Department’s announcement April 15 of its tentative decision to approve Norwegian Air International’s application to fly to and from the U.S.”