Pilots union: Norwegian airline using Cork as a pawn

A pilots’ union has accused the airline behind the planned Cork-Boston route of “using Cork as a pawn” in a battle over labour standards.

Captain Evan Cullen, president of the Irish Airline Pilots’ Association (IALPA), claimed Norwegian Air is not prevented from operating the route because of the US department of transport’s (USDOT) delay in approving a foreign carrier permit for its subsidiary, as the airline has claimed.

In a letter to the Irish Examiner and to a number of TDs in the Munster region, Capt Cullen said Norwegian “could already be flying from Cork to the US as it planned under the permits it already holds”, but that it instead wants to use its subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI), to operate the route.