NJASAP Lends Support To Legislation To End Flag Of Convenience Schemes In Aviation

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) praised the introduction of H.R. 3632, the Fair and Open Skies Act, and urge its swift passage. Introduced by House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Aviation Subcommittee Vice Chairwoman Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), and Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), the bipartisan legislation would uphold the sentiments of our aviation trade agreements by denying Flag of Convenience (FOC) air carriers access to U.S. airspace.

"By establishing safeguards to protect the U.S. aviation marketplace from the very scheme that decimated the U.S. shipping industry decades ago, Congress is demonstrating a definitive commitment to protecting the flying public, aviation professionals and the integrity of the aviation industry," NJASAP President Pedro Leroux said. "By prohibiting the U.S. Department of Transportation from issuing permits to FOC air carriers, the legislation recognizes the scheme for what it really is: a blatant evasion by foreign entities to fulfill the terms of our Open Skies Agreement that comes at the expense of a vital American industry and the men and women who work in its employ."

For more than five years, aviation labor interests have urged lawmakers and both the Obama and Trump administrations to take steps to prohibit the approval of any application filed with the U.S. DOT that would allow a foreign carrier to perpetrate an FOC scheme. "These schemes pose an overt threat to the safety of the National Airspace System as well as to the standards of fair competition that have long characterized the aviation marketplace and the labor practices that protect both pilot and passenger," NJASAP Industry Affairs Program Chairman Coley George said. "For aviation professionals, these schemes drive down salaries and diminish labor standards, impede the development of a robust safety culture and create barriers to critical communication between pilots and airline management," George continued, "and the safety of our passengers and flight operations are diminished as the direct result of foreign entities who prioritize profits over people."

Both Leroux and George applaud Chairman DeFazio and his fellow sponsors' leadership on this important issue. "H.R. 3632 represents a commonsense, bipartisan approach to protecting the foundation of the aviation industry from a scheme that grossly skews the playing field in favor of foreign corporations and undermines decades of work to sustain one of the world's safest airspace systems," Leroux said.

About NJASAP Founded in 2008 as an independent labor advocate, the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) represents the professional interests of the 2,400-plus pilots who fly in the service of NetJets Aviation, Inc. For more information, please visit our website, www.njasap.com, Facebook page, www.facebook.com/njasap, or Twitter feed, @njasap.

SOURCE NJASAP

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