Release #: 20.42
December 15, 2020

ALPA Congratulates Pete Buttigieg on Nomination for Transportation Secretary


McLEAN, VA—Capt. Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement today after President-Elect Joe Biden announced the appointment of Mayor Pete Buttigieg for Secretary of the Department of Transportation:

“As the world’s largest nongovernmental aviation safety organization, ALPA congratulates Pete Buttigieg on the recent nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“This is a very critical time for our nation’s transportation systems and ALPA feels that Mr. Buttigieg’s experience and sound judgement gives him a unique ability to oversee the largest and most complex aviation system in the world, as well as the insight to tackle the challenging problems facing the industry. There is a lot of work ahead to bring U.S. aviation back to pre-pandemic levels, but with strong leadership and working together with crucial stakeholders like ALPA, the Department of Transportation is poised to make many significant improvements.

“ALPA is proud of our long history of working closely with Department of Transportation officials to advance aviation and ensure that the United States continues to usher millions of passengers and cargo safely to global destinations each and every day. We look forward to working with and assisting Mr. Buttigieg in his role as Secretary of Transportation.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents over 59,000 pilots at 35 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit the ALPA website at alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @ALPAPilots.

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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org