Norway’s Labour Minister, Anniken Hauglie of the Conservative Party, has decided to let Norwegian Air staff its long-haul flights with crews from Asia, Great Britain and the US, even on aircraft registered in Norway. After three years of conflict, Hauglie is changing the rules in favour of Norwegian.
“No one has been able to argue that the (Labour Ministry’s) legal department is wrong,” Hauglie told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) just before the weekend. It cleared the foreign crew usage, apparenlty for fear of running afoul of EU regulations. “Therefore the law will be changed.”
It has prohibited crews from other continents from working on board Norwegian-registered aircraft, to preserve Norwegian jobs. Norwegian-registered aircraft is considered to be Norwegian territory, meaning anyone working in it would need to have full Norwegian residence- and working permission.
Norwegian Air officials were pleased but still need clearance from US authorities regarding use of intercontinental crews on flights using Irish-registered aircraft.
newsinenglish.no staff
