Pilots Hail Senate Move to Block Foreign Control of U.S. Airlines

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Capt. Duane E. Woerth, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, issued the following statement after the Senate Appropriations Committee voted in favor of the Inouye-Dorgan-Specter amendment to the Transportation Appropriations bill. The amendment, which passed in an overwhelming 19-6 bipartisan vote, acts to block the Department of Transportation (DOT) from attempting to implement any change in the rules prohibiting foreign control of U.S. airlines.

“Today’s overwhelming bipartisan vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee leaves no doubt that Congress is united in its profound opposition to the Department of Transportation’s misguided attempt to hand control of the U.S. airline industry over to foreign interests.

“DOT has blatantly ignored concerns raised by the U.S. House when it passed the Oberstar-LoBiondo-Poe amendment to the Transportation Appropriations bill by a landslide 291-137 bipartisan vote in June. Congress has told DOT to halt its effort numerous times, yet the agency’s stubborn refusal to heed the will of Congress has forced the Senate Appropriations Committee to address this issue again.

“Senators Daniel Inouye, Byron Dorgan, and Arlen Specter have taken a strong stand for the working people of this country, our nation’s defense, and the U.S. airline industry, which is just now beginning to regain its financial strength.

“Resounding opposition from both Houses of Congress and from both sides of the aisle is an unmistakable directive: DOT and the Administration must immediately shelve this ill-conceived proposal and bring any attempt to overturn the current law prohibiting foreign control of U.S. airlines before Congress.”

ALPA represents 62,000 airline pilots at 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada.

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ALPA CONTACTS: Linda Shotwell, Jeff Orschel, (703) 481-4440, media@alpa.org