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Norwegian Air International Scheme Still Should Not Fly

Washington, DC—Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), issues this statement in response to attempts by Norwegian Air International (NAI) allies to promote NAI’s flag of convenience scheme:

“Today’s press event by travel industry special interests felt like a walk through a twisted fantasy world – a world where a rogue airline like Norwegian Air International (NAI) can enter our marketplace with impunity and find itself completely free to operate in violation of our aviation trade agreements and laws and at the expense of middle class airline jobs.

“Today’s event was an attempt to put a glossy veneer on NAI’s now-discredited application to gain U.S. government approval to launch a flag of convenience airline. No amount of PR gimmicks and spin can negate the central facts in NAI’s application: NAI will use Bangkok-based flight crews employed through a Singaporean hiring agency to evade tax and labor obligations in its home country while still reaping the benefits of the U.S.-European Union Open Skies accord. TTD and its affiliates call on the Department of Transportation to deny NAI’s application without delay.”

CONTACT: Elizabeth Weinberg, elizabethw@ttd.org, 202-628-9262

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