Norse Atlantic fires back against US lawmakers, alleging ‘false’ claims

The CE of start-up Norse Atlantic Airways has blasted US lawmakers for making “false” claims about labour practices, insisting Norse will hire US staff and conform to air transport treaties. “We encourage people to stick to the facts and not listen to false claims made by parties who don’t know our company or have made any effort to reach out to us,” Norse CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen says. “Our door is open, and we welcome any questions about our future operation that will create US jobs and offer Americans affordable flights to Europe.” The pushback responds to a 30 March letter in which two US lawmakers called Norse, which has yet to start operations, an “unfair player”. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chair Peter DeFazio, and aviation sub-committee head Rick Larsen, sent the letter to US Department of Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. The lawmakers said Norse might pursue a business plan similar to that of Norwegian Air International (NAI), the Ireland-based affiliate of Norwegian. The latest letter demands that the DOT deny Norse’s foreign air carrier permit if it pursues a structure similar to NAI’s. “These claims are false and seem to be based on misinformation,” says Norse chief Larsen.<br/>