Typo in the sky: Pilot association’s Va. skywriting gets a redo

The correctly spelled version of the the Air Line Pilots Association's message over Northern Virginia Monday afternoon. (Courtesy ALPA)
The correctly spelled version of the the Air Line Pilots Association’s message over Northern Virginia Monday afternoon. (Courtesy ALPA)
(Courtesy ALPA)
(Courtesy ALPA)
(Courtesy ALPA)
(1/4)
The correctly spelled version of the the Air Line Pilots Association's message over Northern Virginia Monday afternoon. (Courtesy ALPA)

WASHINGTON — Don’t feel so bad about the typo in your tweet — it’s a lot harder to fix it with skywriting.

Above Northern Virginia Monday afternoon, many saw a message that read “#Deny NIA,” but the Air Line Pilots Association confirms it should have been “#Deny NAI.”

It’s part of the association’s campaign against allowing Norwegian Airlines to operate in the United States.

“[Monday’s] skywriting was part of ALPA’s campaign to demonstrate opposition to Norwegian’s request for a foreign air carrier permit. While the first pass was a bit jumbled, like Norwegian’s business plan, it is easily corrected. Norwegian should consider doing the same,” an ALPA spokesperson said in a statement.

The association — which represents and advocates for more than 52,000 pilots at 30 U.S. and Canadian airlines — realized the initial mistake when it started getting calls. The pilot made another pass around 5 p.m. with the correct message.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up