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| A Norwegian Airlines flight. Photo: Airnews |
[Avionics Today 09-04-2014] The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has denied Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) request for a temporary foreign air carrier operating authorization, which would allow the airline to operate within the U.S. The denial is only for the temporary application and is not a denial of the full application approval for a foreign carrier exemption with the DOT by NAI.
NAI is petitioning to be allowed to operate within the United States as an Irish airline on the grounds that the Open Skies Agreement with the European Union allows the airline — and several others who have filed in support of the application — the right to operate within the U.S. The Norwegian carrier also argues that the U.S. economy will benefit from the increased tourism and employment.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and many other organizations have argued against NAI’s right to operate as an Irish airline, however, maintaining that the Norwegian airline had no operating flights or history of operations in Ireland and intended to compete unfairly against U.S. airlines in the global marketplace.