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Allied Pilots Association: “Flags of Convenience Would Obliterate Our Industry”

FORT WORTH, Texas (April 16, 2018) – The Allied Pilots Association (APA) applauded the inclusion of H.R. 2150, the Flags of Convenience Don’t Fly Here Act, in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 now before Congress.

“We want to express our gratitude to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster and all of the cosponsors of H.R. 2150, and we urge the full House and Senate to lend their support,” said Captain Dan Carey, president of the Allied Pilots Association.

APA has been an outspoken supporter of H.R. 2150 since its introduction last year by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Pete DeFazio (D-Ore.), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.). The bill now has 118 cosponsors.

“Flags of convenience would obliterate our industry, with the hundreds of thousands of hard-working men and women who keep our nation’s airlines flying paying a terrible price,” Carey said. “To understand the threat posed by flags of convenience, all you have to do is look at the state of U.S. merchant shipping. Because of flags of convenience, there are almost no U.S.-flagged merchant vessels anymore, and the industry has a dismal safety record.

“It’s imperative for policymakers to act now to prevent the airline industry from suffering the same fate,” he said.

H.R. 2150 would prohibit the Department of Transportation from issuing a permit to a foreign airline unless DOT determines that the airline is not establishing itself in a particular country just to avoid regulations. The bill would also require DOT to ensure that any new foreign air carrier permits issued to European airlines are consistent with the fair labor standards and fair competition requirements of the U.S.-EU-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement.

Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association — the largest independent pilots union in the United States — is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 15,000 pilots of American Airlines, including several hundred pilots on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s website is AlliedPilots.org. American Airlines is the world’s largest passenger airline.