Says Deliberate Effort Was Made To Close Airline
RegionsAir -- grounded by the FAA in March, over what the agency
called discrepancies in the airline's training procedures -- is
striking back. This week, the airline sued several government
agencies, and Senator Dick Durbin, asking to be reinstated.
The carrier is also asking for $11.65 million in damages
stemming from the forced shutdown, according to the Decatur (IL)
Herald-Review.
As ANN reported, the FAA
first grounded RegionsAir over a dispute regarding wording in the
company's training manual. Three days after the airline resumed
operations, the FAA shut it down again -- this time, saying a
number of line check airmen were not properly trained.
According to the lawsuit, the FAA cajoled the airline into
signing an agreement to suspend operations, by threatening to
prevent some RegionsAir workers from getting jobs in the aviation
field in the future. The lawsuit also maintains the airline's
president was given less than an hour to sign the decree, without
the ability to consult attorneys.
Even after the airline brought its operations back into
compliance, RegionsAir says the FAA deliberately delayed
recertifying the airline.
"- the FAA failed to commit one inspector to RegionAir's
facility," the complaint says. "- the FAA inspectors failed to
return phone calls, or return written correspondence to
RegionsAir."
The suit also alleges Senator Durbin
tried to shut down the carrier. "Sen. Durbin lobbied American
Airlines, the secretary of transportation and regional airports in
pursuit of his goal of closing plaintiff's business," the complaint
states.
Joe Shoemaker, Durbin's press secretary, referred questions on
the matter to the Office of Senate Legal Counsel -- where no one
was available Monday to comment on the complaint, according to the
paper. An FAA spokesman declined to comment on the matter.
The de facto shutdown of RegionsAir has left Decatur, and
several other small cities with no air service to St. Louis. Many
of the airline's employees remain out of work; others are still on
the job, but working for less pay and benefits.
"A lot of employees feel shortchanged," said Nathan Vallier,
director of sales and marketing for RegionsAir at the time of the
grounding. "We feel that somebody pushed us out the door. We just
want our jobs back."
Well, that... and, to see the FAA and others exposed in what
many believe was a conspiracy to shut down the airline.
"It will be interesting to see in the courts, to see the
testimony and the paper trail," Vallier said. "We feel it was
motivated. Somebody was motivated to get rid of us. Somebody does
not like the company. I want to know what happened. If the FAA was
pressured, who pressured the FAA and why? What was their
motive?"
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