U.S. Airport Group Sides Against Airlines in Open Skies Battle
Photo Credit: Passengers at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. Flickr / Robert Couse-Baker
Skift Take
This has ballooned beyond a dispute over the Open Skies application of a relatively small carrier (Norwegian Air International) to an existential debate of the free market future for the global aviation industry. Decisions made now will have lasting repercussions.
In a letter addressed to the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Kevin M. Burke, President and CEO of Airports Council International—North America, expressed strong support of existing Open Skies policy and urged the Secretaries to stand behind the 114 established Open Skies agreements signed over more than 20 years which, he says, have brought “billions of dollars in economic activity to communities throughout the US.”
Burke suggests Open Skies agreements align with the objectives of a de-regulated domestic aviation industry by “eliminat[in
