United and American Airlines act against military in San Antonio
Texas Border Business
Washington — After withdrawing their bipartisan Amendment from the final Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization package, which would have allowed for a nonstop flight from San Antonio to Washington, DC, U.S. Representatives Henry Cuellar (TX-28) and Will Hurd (TX-23), along with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg issued the following statements:
“This was a bipartisan amendment that would have improved access to the entire region and it is disappointing that this amendment was brought to the 5-yard line, but forced to be pulled because United and America Airlines misled our fellow members and the public-at-large using scare tactics and completely false information,” said Congressman Cuellar.
“These airlines falsely claimed that we were going to undermine retirees’ pensions, diminish passenger safety, threaten service in more than half the country, and many other things that were demonstrably false. By undercutting this proposal and misrepresenting our intent, they robbed our military, veterans, military contractors, and their families in San Antonio of greater service options they deserved. The free market should determine where airlines and passengers fly, not lobbyists and arcane provisions in the law. Our commitment to increasing access to San Antonio and the region at large has not wavered and we will renew efforts to educate our fellow members with facts so that when we pursue this again the public interest, rather than the special interest, will prevail,” Cuellar concluded.
“If adopted, this amendment would have allowed airlines the option to provide nonstop service from airports near military medical facilities directly to Reagan Airport and the Pentagon if the free-market showed demand,” said Hurd. “Unfortunately for military personnel and their families, United and American Airlines fear increased competition to their routes from SAT to Dulles and stood in the way of saving thousands of taxpayer dollars and up to a half-million military man hours that could be spent on critical national security needs.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said, “This was a narrowly-crafted solution for Military City USA. I am grateful to Congressmen Cuellar and Hurd and the rest of our delegation, whose bipartisan teamwork was tremendous. We are extremely disappointed that fear and misinformation won the day.”
