Move to break deadlock over Cork to US flights

The European Commission has moved to break the deadlock with US authorities over new low-fares flights to the US from Cork.

Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc wrote to US transport secretary Anthony Foxx yesterday confirming that following consultation with EU member states, the commission is taking the unprecedented step of triggering arbitration.

The process relates to Norwegian Air’s Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI), which applied to the US authorities for a foreign carrier permit in 2013 to operate a Cork Boston route this year, and a Cork New York route next year. It has also flagged the possibility of US routes from Shannon.