The Transportation Department says it has no plans to investigate further the financial fitness of Eastern Airlines, denying a request from the airline's unions who say the company is being stripped of its assets.
The department said Wednesday that Eastern "has demonstrated that it has the financial strength to operate safely and without due risk to consumers" and no formal fitness investigation is needed.The DOT also chastised the unions representing Eastern pilots and machinists for bringing the petition. It accused the unions of engaging in "a transparent attempt to put pressure" on management by raising false safety concerns.
"Based on our earlier preliminary investigation of Eastern and our review of publicly available current information, we believe that Eastern remains fit to operate," DOT said.