House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee approves Davis’ Fair and Open Skies Act

Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) to ensure that authorizations issued by the U.S. Transportation Secretary to foreign air carriers do not undermine labor rights or standards received approval on July 28 from the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

“If a foreign air carrier wants to operate within the United States, then they need to play by the same rules we require of our airlines or they shouldn’t be permitted to operate within our borders,” Rep. Davis said following the vote last week. 

The Fair and Open Skies Act, H.R. 3095, which Rep. Davis introduced in May with eight other original cosponsors and bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), seeks to preclude new foreign airlines from operating to and from the United States when they exploit “flags of convenience” to avoid the regulations of their home countries, or otherwise undermine labor standards, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Davis’ staff.

“Our country operates one of the safest aviation systems in the world, yet foreign airlines who operate here are currently not required to follow our country’s safety and industry regulations,” said Rep. Davis, ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. “Letting foreign airlines skirt regulations or labor standards in their home country only puts American workers and companies at a disadvantage.”

If approved, the legislation would require the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that any new foreign air carrier permit issued to a foreign airline that will fly between the United States and Europe under the U.S.-E.U.-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement is consistent with the agreement’s requirements regarding fair labor standards and fair competition, according to the bill summary. 

H.R. 3095 also would establish that preventing entry into U.S. markets by foreign airlines exploiting flags of convenience or undermining labor standards is in the U.S. public interest, and would require DOT to consider these factors before granting a future foreign air carrier permit, the summary says.

“By passing the Fair and Open Skies Act…, our committee has proven that we can work in a bipartisan manner to protect American aviation workers and their jobs from predatory foreign airlines looking to exploit the weaker labor laws of another country to unfairly get ahead,” said Rep. DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “I’m grateful for Representative Davis’ partnership on this issue and I look forward to working with him to get this bill signed into law.”

H.R. 3095, which currently has a total of 86 cosponsors, is supported by the AFL-CIO, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Communications Workers of America, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and the Transport Workers Union, among many others. 

The bill now heads to the full chamber for consideration.