Calgary, AB – Despite the best efforts by the Calgary Airport Authority, an IAM demonstration against privatizing de-icing services at the airport was an unqualified success.
“We had an agreement in place with the airport authority to walk two by two inside the terminal and set up at each doorway to hand out information about the proposed centralized De-Icing Pad and a single use provider,” explained IAM Transportation District Lodge 140 General Chairperson Keith Aiken. “The Airport Authority shut us down from setting up in the terminal, then after agreeing to let us hand out flyers at three doors, they stopped us after 30 minutes. Why doesn’t the Airport Authority want the public to know about these plans?”
The Airport Authority plans to legislate a single operator to deice all departing aircraft at Calgary International Airport. “Currently deicing is handled by IAM members at Air Canada, Swissport and Airport Terminal Services for airlines such as Air Canada, United, KLM, Delta, Horizon, Sunwing Alaska and American,” said Aiken. “When the Company that provides deicing has a monopoly, the travelling public will lose. I know of airlines that currently only operate seasonal service as the cost of deicing in the winter months is too high. What will the cost of deicing look like under a monopoly of a single service provider?”
More than 150 members of IAM Local Lodges 1681 and 2734 came out with family and friends for the rally and the response of the general public was very positive. “This will affect the jobs of our members and the wallets of the travelling public,” said Aiken. “This demonstration is only the beginning.”
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