Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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414. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if, in view of the evidence that an airline (details supplied) will not be employing crew or pilots in Cork or Shannon Airports, he will review its operating licence and reconvene a more comprehensive meeting with IALPA, the Irish Airline Pilots Association. [9390/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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In February 2014 Norwegian Air International (NAI) was granted an Irish Air Operator’s Certificate by the Irish Aviation Authority and an Irish Air Carriers Operating Licence by the Commission for Aviation Regulation.

I met with IALPA on Friday the 17th of February and a number of matters were discussed in some detail, including Norwegian Air International (NAI).

Further to the meeting, IALPA provided my Department with material as evidence that NAI would not be employing crew or pilots in Cork or Shannon, in the form of an "Inside Business" podcast interview broadcast on the 7th of December 2016. In that interview, the NAI spokesperson reiterated comments made previously by the airline, throughout the application process for a foreign air carrier permit to operate flights from Ireland to the US, that only EU and US based crew would be employed to operate those services.

While it appears that NAI will not establish an airline base in Cork initially, I was heartened by the recent news that NAI has hired 24 graduates from the Cork based Atlantic Flight Training Academy.

I now look forward to NAI's forthcoming announcement of details of the long awaited transatlantic services from Ireland. I will consider the possibility of convening another meeting with IALPA in the near future.