What many Europeans don’t seem to realize is that there is at least one large EU freight airline that has for many years done exactly the same as Fedex is now planning, should they too be stopped? The only difference is that the pilots are not based in the USA. Said airline has many flights a week that carry freight from a country other than their own to and from the USA on direct flights that do not transit their home country. This is under the relevant freedom of the air agreement (5th or 7th?).
Despite the fact that the EU now negotiates air service agreements there is no legal definition that classifies the EU as a country and the negotiation is made on behalf of all individual countries, which then apply the agreement. It is the EU who have agreed 8th freedom rights within the EU meaning any EU company can fly between any two EU countries or within a single country which is not their own domicile.
What is the difference between Fedex basing pilots in CGN and, say, Ryanair (Irish) basing pilots in Spain and not necessarily hiring Spanish pilots under these 8th freedom rights.
However European you might feel there is no proposal (yet) to show your nationality in your passport as European, therefore all international air service agreements must be followed between each country therein, I hope nobody would advocate going back to the highly regulated days of yesteryear and rescind these agreements
The issue of basing is irrelevant really as whether the pilots are based or rotate through the particular city doesn’t alter the fact that the aircraft are flown by employees of the company. In fact basing at least puts a little into the local economy.
The only important change to lobby for is the right of any nationality to live and work in the US or Europe but for that you will have to argue with the relevant immigration department or politician. Good luck.
Flightwatch (a European)