The Mayor of Cork County has joined Irish aviation, political and business leaders in slamming claims made by four US congressmen trying to block the first transatlantic flight from Cork airport.
Cork Mayor John Paul O'Shea said the details in their proposed bill and their references to Irish labour laws are "inaccurate and insulting to the people of Cork and Ireland," reports breakingnews.ie.
The report adds that Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy is now urging their members to make submissions to the US Department of Transportation (DoT) supporting the granting of a licence to Norwegian Airline’s Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI), to operate flights between Ireland and the US.
Mayor O'Shea went on to add that the DoT has already stated that there is no legal impediment to the granting of a foreign carrier permit”. He argues that the bill has no validity and as a result the congressmen should withdraw it and support the flight route.
If the congressmen's bill is made into law, it would prevent the US Department of Transportation from allowing foreign air carriers to operate between the EU and US unless they follow basic and fair EU or US labour standards.
The congressmen argue that the Norwegian Airline International's model violates the Open Skies deal and would result in an unfair competitive advantage in the transatlantic market while also compromising the competitiveness of American air carriers.
