CONGRESS WEIGHS IN ON NORWEGIAN AIR INTERNATIONAL
July 12, 2014
On June 10, 2014, an amendment to HR 4745: Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill was adopted by the House of Representatives. The amendment prohibits government funds from being used to approve “a new foreign air carrier permit under sections 41301 through 41305 of title 49, United States Code, or exemption application under section 40109 of that title of an air carrier already holding an air operator’s certificate issued by a country that is party to the U.S.-E.U.-Iceland-Norway Air Transport Agreement where such approval would contravene United States law or Article 17 bis of the U.S.-E.U.- Iceland-Norway Air Transport Agreement.” The Senate is currently debating a similar amendment.
The amendment is aimed at a proposed subsidiary of Norwegian Air Shuttle, Norwegian Air International (“NAI”), which has applied for permit and exemption authority from DOT to engage in scheduled and charter operations between the U.S. and EU, the U.S. and the ECAA and the U.S. and Norway. NAI’s application has been pending since December 2013. Critics argue that NAI applied for an Air Operator Certificate in Ireland in order to avoid Norway’s social laws and evade collective bargaining agreements with its Norwegian pilots and flight attendants. NAI’s pilots are currently based in Thailand and employed under contracts that are covered by Singapore law which prevent collective bargaining. Article 17 bis of the U.S.-EU-Iceland-Norway Open Skies Agreement states that “The Parties recognize the importance of the social dimension of the Agreement and the benefits that arise when open markets are accompanied by high labour standards. The opportunities created by the Agreement are not intended to undermine labour standards or the labour-related rights and principles contained in the Parties’ respective laws.” Sponsors of the amendment argue that NAI’s application is in violation of Article 17 bis.