Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today hailed the Department of Transportation’s decision to grant Delta Airlines a flight slot between SeaTac and central Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Larsen, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, was a key supporter of the application, and spoke to the Deputy Secretary of Transportation about the application earlier this fall.

“This flight is one more way to keep business flowing between Northwest Washington and the booming Asia-Pacific markets,” Larsen said. “This further cements the Northwest’s role as the gateway to the Asia-Pacific. By making it easier for businesspeople to travel to Japan, we will be able to find new opportunities to export Northwest products, not our jobs, overseas.”

Last year the President signed Larsen and Sen. Maria Cantwell’s legislation to create a business travel card to make it easier for American businesspeople traveling to the Asia-Pacific region.